Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story
by jaelly-bean
Summary: A movie fic. Okami and Kitsune are two average girls. After developing a meager friendship, they are thrown into a completely new world, where it's hard to know who's telling the truth, and who isn't. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Hello all. This is just a fic based on the Escaflowne Movie. This story has been co-written with a my friend Brenli, so I only claim half of the credit!

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By: Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 1

Another painting completed. Okami took a step back to admire her work as she dabbed her brush on a napkin, cocking her blonde head to one side. The sun had just begun to set, casting its orange and red hues through Okami's tiny window. She was alone in her dorm room, as usual. This was how she spent most of her time, completing her homework for her Art degree. Her fluctuations in routine emerging only when her roommate would return from Volleyball practice.

The shadows climbed the walls as the sun slowly disappeared, taking with it Okami's only good light source. Sighing, the young woman washed her brushed and pallet, leaving her easel at the end of the room to dry her newest piece. She left her spackled apron on, it seemed like she never took it off.

Okami overheard the jangling of keys outside the door of her dorm room, and in waltzed Kitsune, her roommate, speaking in rapid Japanese and lightly bumping a brightly colored volleyball into the air, watching it fall perfectly into the corner where a desk and the wall met. Not far behind her was Toshiyo, Kitsune's secondary school sweetheart. He looked bored, honestly, but Kitsune remained oblivious to his face as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, whispering goodnight. Toshiyo casually waved at Okami, and shut the door behind him.

Kitsune sighed and stretched out, kicking off her shoes and plopping into the nearest chair. "Such a loooooooong day… I'm ready to just pass out. How about you, Okami-san?" Kitsune asked, not feeling that she knew Okami well enough to call her Okami-chan. They had, after all, only known each other for a couple months.

The smallest of smiles hovered on Okami's lips as she dried her precious paintbrushes. "Pretty much… Painting in such horrendous light hurts my eyes." She pointed her brush at her easel. "It makes my paintings pretty dark too, unfortunately. My professor probably thinks there's something wrong with me." Her smile broadened as she shed her apron, revealing her traditional tattered blue jeans and white tank top. "How was volleyball?"

Kitsune stifled a yawn. "Eh… It was okay. Same old coach overworking us to death…" She laughed at her own small joke, "The man is insane, you know. Everyday he adds more laps to our runs because he insists we aren't quick enough. But what can ya do?" She shrugged, pushing her dark hair behind her ears. "Toshiyo was late again. You'd think he's probably bored with watching practice or something, but he says that's not it…" Just then a small frown crossed her lips. A rare occurrence for a girl like herself, with such a sunny disposition. "I think something's wrong with him and he's just not saying anything. The jerk." She tried laughing it off.

Okami frowned. In her heart, she knew that Toshiyo and Kitsune's relationship was a tainted one. They didn't have the typical glow about them that the usual couple did, but Okami never said anything. She wasn't really friends with Kitsune anyway. Sometimes she felt that Kitsune only talked to her because her scholarship told her to. Without changing out of her jeans, Okami flopped onto her tiny excuse for a bed, staring at the ceiling. Kitsune's light snoring signified she was already asleep.

Okami lied when she said she was feeling tired, so she just laid there, listening to her roommate's light breathing. She stared up at the ceiling, a ceiling she had become accustomed to very quickly, after so many hours of just staring at it. Okami didn't have any friends at her university. She was a foreign exchange student from America, so not many of the Japanese people were interested in talking to her. And the poor woman knew that her that her long curly blonde hair was equivalent to a "Kick Me" sign, considering how many people stared and sneered at her when she passed them by. She missed her family, she missed her friends. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if she had someone to talk to. Sure, Kitsune talked to her, but nothing more than ridiculous small-talk.

Kitsune had been granted a scholarship, saying that she would room with an American foreign exchange student, to help them to adjust to life in Japan. She wasn't supposed to be Okami's friend, so she wasn't much of one. They had only known each other for a couple of months anyway. Frustrated, the blonde half-breed pulled a blanket over her head and tried her best to fall asleep.

Kitsune woke up early Saturday morning. She was always an early bird, so she thought nothing of it when she rolled to her little clock and saw that it was 6:13 A.M. Quickly she hopped up and dashed into their small bathroom to take a shower.

As she let the warm water run over her, she thought about what she'd do today. It was one of her free Saturdays, and there were a number of ways to spend it. She was sick of volleyball for once in her life. And Toshiyo had been acting funny lately. Well, not anything too different, really, but it was just getting old, that was all…

Okay, fine. She was actually sick of Toshiyo for once, too.

She sighed as she stepped out of the shower, throwing on a warm robe and drying her hair. As she ran a brush through her ebon strands, she stared at Okami's somber painting.

Kitsune had to admit she sometimes felt pretty ignorant about Okami's situation. Japanese born and raised, Kitsune lived a fairly sheltered life. Her idea of far traveling was a short trip to Okinawa. She had always looked like everyone else, spoke like everyone else. She had no idea what it was like to be singled out or alienated. Kitsune couldn't relate. It almost broke her heart.

Kitsune froze.

"Okaaaaaaamiiii… Oi, Okami!" Kitsune lightly pushed on Okami's shoulder.

"Hm?" Groggy hazel eyes slid open as Okami fought her way to consciousness. "Nani?" She stretched, yawning as she let her eyes close again, losing her internal battle to keep them open.

Sighing, Kitsune resumed her gentle prodding. "Okami? Come on get up! It's a bright sunny day!"

A sleepy grunt was the only given reply.

"Onegaishimaaaaaaaaasu?" Kitsune begged childishly. "I'm taking you out!"

"Out?" Okami managed to pry her eyes open. "What do you mean?" She tried her best to smother another wide yawn, but to no avail.

"OutSIDE. In the SUN and the AIR. We need to go hang out, you know? Roomies need to get to know each other!" Kitsune grinned widely. "So how 'bout it? Go get some breakfast somewhere, or somethin'. Oh! And there's a beach nearby. We can check out the hot shirtless men…" Kitsune giggled.

Cocking a brow, the groggy young woman pushed off her blankets and stretched. "A beach huh? Haven't been to one of those in a while…" Okami smiled. "Is there a department store nearby? I need to buy a swimsuit."

"Anooooo… yeah, there actually is one just a block away. The joys of the big city and all, you know?" Kitsune quickly dropped down to a low drawer and pulled it open, grabbing a dark, rich blue bikini. "So get showered up and dressed, Okami-san! Today we are going to get better acquainted! And scope out cuties, but that's totally beside the point."

Okami grinned, excited for the first time in a very long while. "You're supposed to be taken, Kitsune-san!"

A mischievious smirk on her face, Kitsune pressed a finger to her lips, her eyes sparkling. Okami laughed and proceeded to shower herself.

In no more than half-an-hour, Okami was ready to go. Her hair was damp, yet was still showing off its natural curl. She hitched a purse onto her shoulder and beckoned for Kitsune to follow her out the door. "So where is this department store again?"

"Turn left, and walk down exactly one block. Turn left again and you're there!" Kitsune pointed out the way to walk, and off they went, moving briskly in the morning air. "… And here we are!" She said but a short moment later, and they were standing in front of a standard little department store. "The swimsuits are hiding inside… For some reason they don't think to put them up in the display case, even though it's so hot lately… Retarded business. I could run the place better than them, and I FAILED anything to do with advertising." Kitsune scoffed.

Okami laughed, a bright, melodic laugh with a wide sparkling smile to match. "I prefer to stay out of anything business-y, give me art classes all day long!" She pushed herself through the doors and made a bee-line for the bikinis.

"No kiddin'. Business is like learning Latin… It's all foreign to me!" Kitsune mock-sobbed. "My father actually wanted me to go into business… be a secretary or something equally stupid. I think he wanted to throw himself out the window when I told him I wanted to be a teacher."

Laughing again, Okami began to shuffle through the bikini racks. "I can only imagine! Anything business is jibberish to me too. I like art. I understand art. I have ever since I first picked up a paintbrush when I was eight. And my mom has supported me, thankfully." Locating a suit she liked, Okami whipped it off the racks and held it up for Kitsune to observe. "What do you think? Is garnet my color?"

Kitsune considered the choice for a moment, and then nodded. "I think the color would complement your hair nicely, Okami! And I like your hair, by the way. I tried to curl my hair once. It fell flat in an hour." She tugged at a lock of dark hair. "Stubborn. As. Fuck. That's my hair."

Pausing, Okami chewed her lip. "My hair is a curse. I might as well be from Venus, the way people stare at me. It doesn't matter that I have yellow skin and almond eyes, I'm still a freak. A freak not welcome in Japan. It kinda sucks a little bit." Okami turned and made her way to a nearby dressing room. "But I guess that's all right!" She called through the door. "I'm getting used to it!"

Kitsune paused thoughtfully. "… Well you shouldn't have to 'get used to it.' If I were you I'd probably stab them in the eye." She nodded decisively and made mock-stabbing motions in front of herself. "Several times!"

"Heh! You want me to stab all of Japan in the eye? That'd be entertaining!" The white door of the dressing room opened, revealing Okami sporting her garnet string bikini. "What do you think?" She rotated on the spot, showing off her selection and her figure.

Kitsune blinked rapidly. "My God… You have a GREAT BODY, Okami-san!" Kitsune pouted at her own thin body, possessing little curvature, if any. "BUY IT. RIGHT NOW." She demanded, dragging Okami to the register in spite of the fact that the poor girl hadn't changed back into the clothes she'd previously been wearing. "Lucky girl…! I mean, you have BREASTS. It's not fair. Can I have some?"

Okami blinked, afraid out of her mind. "Yes, let me just rip them off and hand them over!" Rolling her eyes, she spoke to the cashier. "I would like to purchase this please, but I must retrieve my clothes first."

Annoyed, the cashier glared at the unusual half-breed and rudely spat his reply. "Hurry it up then, ainoko!"

Biting back her urge to be rude back, Okami spun on her heel and returned to her dressing room.

Okami didn't have to say much of anything, because Kitsune decided to do it for her. "Excuse me? You stupid bastard, don't you care at all about how you make life here for new people like Okami-chan? She has it hard enough, and then you come up with your pathetic nose all stuck up in the air! You're a disgrace… And I'm ASHAMED to call you a Japanese person!" And with that, Kitsune took the finger she'd been pointing at the cashier and promptly jabbed it in his left eye.

"K-Kitsune?" Okami stuttered, eyes wide and holding up her suit on a hangar. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm stabbing him in the eye!" Kitsune promptly smacked the crying cashier. "Don't give me that crying crap! I live a block away from you, and if I come in here and find you giving Okami-chan that lip, I'll rip your lip right off!" She screamed at him. "So you be quiet!"

The cashier whimpered and sucked up his tears, holding a hand over his assaulted eye.

"You know what? Where's the manager… I wanna speak to the manager right now!"

"Kitsune is this really necessary?" Okami offered quietly, shrinking under the harsh stares of shopping customers.

The manager seemed to appear out of thin air, drawn by the commotion and staring customers. "What's going on here?" He commanded.

"Okamiiii this is totally necessary. If I were in your shoes I would've done this a long time ago." Kitsune said to Okami, and turned to the manager. "Yes, I'd like to make a complaint." She jabbed her finger in the direction of the cashier once again. "This guy here made rude remarks to my friend. How do you expect this to get you good business, if your cashier is being a little snot to your customers?"

The manager's jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed, throwing a glare at his sniffling cashier. "I'll deal with you later." He said dangerously, and looked to Okami. "Please forgive his rudeness ma'am." His tone was gentle as he bowed slightly before her. "There will be consequences for his actions. As for you…" the polite manager straightened to view the bikini clutched to her chest. "Your purchase is on me, please see fit to visit us again."

"Arigato… I will." She returned his bow and turned to Kitsune.

"Thank you, sir." Kitsune gave her own quick little bow and kept an angry eye on the cashier until they were out of the store… and then promptly broke into a grin. "Now that's what I call gettin' some respect! That was fun. I almost want to do that again…"

"Come to think of it… that was rather entertaining!" The two girls giggled. "So to the beach? After we retrieve towels and junk from our room?"

"Most definitely!" Kitsune nodded and with that the two girls sprinted back to the room. Hastily Kitsune grabbed sunblock and a plain white towel, throwing them into a pink bag covered in Hello Kitty keychains. She had to admit that the bag looked childish, but she'd always had a liking for childish things like Hello Kitty and anything pink. "Ohhh… Here we go!" Kitsune slipped on a pair of sunglasses that at first seemed to be too big for her face, but once she slipped them on, they actually had a way of complimenting her face. "There we go. I'm hot stuff now." She laughed and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Okamiiiiii! You ready?"

"Hai! That I am!" Okami emerged from the bathroom, sporting a plain dark purple bag, and wearing her typical tattered blue jeans and black tank top. The only difference was the red tie straps of her bikini around her neck. "Shall we?"

"We shall!" Kitsune replied, and off they went, sprinting to the beach, which, fortunately, was very close to their room as well – three blocks away.

The second they got there Kitsune made a beeline for the best spot on the beach. Of course, this meant it had to be somewhere near a group of boys. "Ohhhhh perfect!" Kitsune said merrily, as she laid her towel down, plopped her bag down on it, and swiftly took her white shirt off over her head. "Ah, feel that breeze, Okami-chan!" Kitsune sighed happily, holding her arms open.

Smiling, Okami pulled her own tank off, closing her eyes as the wind spread its gentle hands across her face. She gazed out across the breadth of the sparkling ocean. "Hey Kitsune?"

"Yeeees?" Kitsune asked innocently, still embracing the wind. "Oh! Hottie at 12 o' clock!" Kitsune eyed a young man running toward the water.

Okami giggled. "Oh he is a cute one isn't he?" She sighed. "But seriously… have you ever wondered: why is there only life on earth? Why isn't there a world as… unique as this one, somewhere else?"

"… Well… Who said there wasn't?" Kitsune smiled. "I'm willing to bet there is!" She pointed out to the sky. "Somewhere out there… Maybe behind the Moon… My mother used to say that to me as a child… Granted, she used to say that if I wasn't careful I'd be banished there, but shh. That's okay." The boy she'd been eyeing was now far out in the water, so she followed his tracks and dipped her feet in the water. "You know… Wouldn't it be nice to go someplace other than here? I mean, not in this world anymore? I've always wanted to. 'Course, even just getting out of the country would be a big leap for me. That's the sad thing about it."

"Ever since I was little… I've had these dreams about a world different from this one… I've painted it a few times. I kept seeing these moons, a blue one and a white one. It's weird." Okami laughed and scratched her head. "Maybe I'm just a freak, but I think it would be cool to see those moons someplace other than my paintings, you know?"

"No kiddin'…" Kitsune said quietly, wading deeper into the water. Part of her wanted to jump and say, 'No way, you too? I'm glad I'm not the only one who's had dreams about the two moons, too!' … But she couldn't bring herself to say anything about it. It was too much of a coincidence… Okami would think she was either a loser, or trying too hard to make her feel welcome. Or both.

"Hey… you ok?"

Kitsune looked up from the surf to see Okami had waded in beside her, and was staring with a confused expression in her eyes.

"Oh… Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just lookin' for cuties and all… Not very many today… Maybe they're off hiding in that other world… God damn, we need to go there, then!" She quickly tried to lighten the mood.

Okami smiled again, her typical smile that never really reached her eyes. They held a look that gave away that she was thinking about something else, something sad. But that look quickly faded as she scanned over the beach's inhabitants. "He looks pretty hot, check him out!" She pointed at a tan, shirtless man on the beach with chin-length jet-black hair. "Kawaii, ne?"

Kitsune blinked. "Kawaii is an understatement. That guy is PURE SEX." She giggled. "There is nothing hotter than long hair on a guy… Toshiyo won't grow his hair out, though… It's not his thing…" She rolled her eyes.

"Me? I not a huge fan of long hair, I prefer it kind of shaggy, you know? Short but long at the same time… that's what I like! However I do have to make an exception for Mr. Pure Sex over there!" Okami giggled again.

The city was set in twilight when the two girls finally decided to head for home. Their hair was stringy and soaked from their time at the beach, considering they were invited to join a beach volleyball game, which ended in two guys that they were competing against carrying them kicking and screaming into the water against their will. It was all in good fun of course, and neither of them had had more fun in a really long time.

"So what shall we do tomorrow, Okami-chan?" Kitsune said, drying off her hair as best she could.

"No idea, you know this city better than I do!" Unlike Kitsune, Okami didn't care that she had sand and water dripping from her hair. She had never had so much fun, and with Kitsune, she felt like Japan could become her second home.

"Anooo… Well, that's the problem with living in Japan – You forget what there is to do. Anooooooooo…" Kitsune gave it some thought… "Well there's all those shops… I guess… And… There are karaoke bars all over the place. I mean, it's Japan. What would Japan be like without karaoke? Annnnnd… You could go to shrines… and… other things like that… I guess…" Kitsune laughed. "I don't know! I've been here all my life so stuff like that is just so normal, I overlook it all the time, you know? … You know, Okami-chan?" Kitsune stopped walking. "Okaaaaaamiiiii-chaaaaan…?"

Okami had stopped on the sidewalk a few paces behind, and had turned back to face the ocean. "Can you hear that?" She whispered, captivated by something Kitsune couldn't see or hear.

"Eh?" Kitsune tried to pick up whatever noise Okami had become spellbound by, and soon got caught up in it along with her…

It was a voice, haunting and sweet, singing in the distance.

Win dain a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta

"What _is_ that?" Okami muttered, wide eyes still glued to the sparkling horizon.

"I don't know… It sounds beautiful, though, doesn't it?" Kitsune cooed. She turned her eyes to the horizon as well, feeling an involuntary smile cross her lips. "It's very haunting… I like it…"

"I wonder where it's coming from…" The blonde-headed young woman saw a sparkle of white across the ocean. "What's that?"

The sparkle grew steadily larger, and with it, the song's volume grew as well. An involuntary swell of panic grew in Okami's chest as the sparkle grew to the size of the setting sun on the horizon, growing brighter every second.

"… It's a woman… with BEAUTIFUL hair…" Kitsune marveled, "And a beautiful voice as well…" Suddenly it registered with Kitsune that beautiful, sparkly woman singing enchanting songs and coming right for you was hardly anything normal. "Wait a minute, what? Are we hallucinating?"

"Uh…" A bright light blinded the two girls, causing them both to shield their eyes. "What the hell?" Okami gasped. The light faded, and only white light surrounded them, and the woman with beautiful hair stood just out of reach. A warm, loving smile lingered on her pale lips as she opened welcoming arms to them.

"_Chosen Ones…" _Her smile began to weaken. _"The time has come for you to face your destiny. Please don't be afraid."_

"Why shouldn't we be afraid?" Kitsune cried. "What do you mean, CHOSEN ONES?"

Okami could only stare in her wide-eyed shock as the woman didn't answer Kitsune's question, she merely smiled that odd smile of hers.

Once again a bright light flashed, and both Kitsune and Okami knew only blackness.

Very slowly Kitsune's world came back to her as she cautiously opened her eyes. She could feel something gooey and slimy by her feet and she was almost afraid to find out what it was. She didn't have much to worry about, because once she'd opened her eyes, it took her quite some time for her eyes to adjust. Immediately she was filled with fear, cramped up with little movement, no vision, and something slimy at her feet. "Oh my God… Okami…? Okami-chan?" She felt something stir behind her.

"…Yeah, I'm here. You ok?"

"… I guess so… Yes and no… Okay, not really…" Kitsune whimpered. "I can't SEE anything… Do you feel that… slimyness on the ground…?"

"Yeah, it's pretty gross… And I thought I heard voices a few minutes ago from… somewhere. Where ARE we?"

"I have no idea… We need to get the fuck OUT of here!" Kitsune reached out to begin hitting what she could, save Okami. "If you heard voices maybe they'll help get us out… Oiiii! Anyone out there? HELP!" Kitsune called out, pounding everywhere.

"SSSSHHHH!" Okami hissed. "Be QUIET! Listen!" Straining their ears, the pair heard voices, male voices, from somewhere outside their prison. "I think we're moving…"

"Ok, easy! Take it easy!" A voice echoed. "Set her down easy now!"

The two women shook in their trap as it was set to the ground.

"… What are we inside of?" Kitsune asked. "God, I wish there was some sort of opening or something so I could see outside. This darkness is starting to really get to me… and whatever this goopy mess is…" She shivered, having no idea what it was.

"I'm not sure I want to know… listen!"

"Could you dumb-shits go any slower? Hurry up and open the chamber!" A commanding male voice barked from somewhere beyond their walls.

"Kitsune-chan… I have a bad feeling about thi-" Okami couldn't even finish her sentence before a wall was split in two, shedding blinding light into the chamber, and causing both girls to tumble out of their enclosure. Within milliseconds, the two were laying in a heap on the hard ground. "Ow!" It took another second for Okami to register that Kitsune had fallen on top of her, pinning her to the uncomfortable floor.

"Owwwwwwwww my boooooodyyyyyy…" Kitsune moaned, rolling off of Okami's cringing frame. "Ohhh… headache time…" She clutched her throbbing cranium. "Okami-chaaann…?"

"Ugh." Blinking the stars out of her eyes, Okami managed to focus on a red, gray, and brown mass before her. After a moment, she was able to register that the colors were people, people and their clothing. It seemed as though every person in their brown tattered rags were staring wide-eyed, and when met with Okami's gaze, immediately dropped to their knees and pressed their noses to the floor. "Eh?" The young men in gray armor stared in disbelief as well, clutching hands to the hilts of their swords. A single warrior in red stood at the middle, his brow furrowed, his eyes blazing. "Kitsune… I think this could be bad…"

"… Maybe just a smidgen…?" Kitsune stared, half-scared, half-intrigued at the sight of all these young men in their strange armor and their swords. "… Should we… say hello or something?" She whispered to Okami, staring most cautiously at the man in red as he towered over the two girls.

Okami managed a nervous, sheepish smile in his direction, before the red-clad warrior grabbed her roughly by the wrist, and wrenched her to her feet. "You!" He hissed, his snarling lips uncomfortably close to Okami's terrified face. "Who are you! What were you doing inside the Alseides!" He turned his fiery glare to Kitsune, who remained on the floor, nearly as frightened as Okami.

"Let me go." Okami gasped weakly, petrified under the harsh gaze of this platinum-headed psychopath.

The man's stern grip intensified as he turned over her wrist. "You're… the Dark Star?" He asked, staring at the veins of her wrist.

"What?" Okami shakily followed his gaze, and felt the color drain from her face. Because there on her wrist, was a tattoo of a tribal star… a tattoo she had never seen before.

**To be continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 2

The man in red had little to no patience. "Dark Star! You know, Dark Star, Light Star?" His eyes smoldered in his annoyance. "Come here." He commanded Kitsune, but she had to do no standing of her own. The man heaved her to her feet and examined her wrist, and Kitsune was surprised to find a tattoo of her own there, but the star on her wrist was hollow, not filled in like Okami's. "I see, and you're the Light Star. Heh." The man in red tossed her hand away. "How's that for irony?"

Kitsune's eyes narrowed, but she dared not speak up against him. She wasn't stupid and didn't plan on mouthing off to anyone with a sword.

The man scoffed and turned away. "Dallet!" He barked, and an attractive young man with brown hair cut bluntly at the shoulders hurried forward.

"Yes my lord?"

"See that the Stars are taken to Lord Folken… I'm sure he is expecting them." With that, the rude commander stalked away, leaving everyone else behind.

Okami turned her wide, confused eyes to Kitsune. "Expecting us? What the hell is going on?" She kept her arms clamped to her chest, cradling her throbbing wrist with care.

"I… have no idea…" Kitsune said weakly, caressing her own wrist.

"Follow me." The young man known as Dallet motioned to them, and he began to walk off. After a few paces he stopped and turned. "… Are you two coming?"

Okami and Kitsune were crowded together, staring at him unsurely.

A couple of the other men in gray whispered to each other and began to snicker, but Dallet shushed them, sighing. "Look, we're not going to hurt you. Not if you're really the Stars we've been waiting for. So please follow me…"

At last the two nerve-wracked girls trailed after him, the fellow steel-gray men taking care to form around them. They were fairly sure it was for their own security that they did so… they just weren't quite accustomed to all the swords around them.

It seemed as though they were making their way out of a catacomb of underground caverns, the way only lit by various torches on the wall. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally emerged to find themselves on a deserted street, but a type of street that neither of the two women had ever seen, like an empty marketplace from a third world country. Neither had much time to ponder, before Dallet began to move off, and they followed suit.

Okami's head was abuzz. Confusion, along with an array of other strange emotions, were chasing themselves around inside her. The street was dimly lit by blue light from the moon. The moon, maybe it would be something she could actually find recognizable, a possible island of hope in a sea of the unfamiliar. She looked up, and was once again met with a shock. Hovering in the sky, was the same two moons she had been dreaming since she was a child.

She stopped in her tracks, staring, mouth slightly agape. "Kitsune…"

Kitsune paused, staring where Okami pointed. She blinked rapidly, then went wide-eyed. "The two moons… Oh my God, that's Earth and… Oh my God…" That was all she could say.

"The Mystic Moon looks brighter than usual tonight…" A gray man with blond, bowl-cut hair remarked. The whole group of them had stopped with the two girls.

"Blame it on them, Shesta!" Dallet laughed lightly, pointing at Kitsune and Okami.

The two girls stared blankly at him, and his laugh faded off and ended with a cough.

"Okay, well… let's get going." And he continued leading them onward to Lord Folken, whoever he was. Kitsune didn't know, that was for sure.

"Eh… anooo…" Kitsune spoke up quietly.

Dallet looked over his shoulder at her. "Yes?"

"Wh… Where are we? Who… are you all?" She asked shyly.

Dallet blinked, then shook his head. "Right… I suppose you wouldn't know would you?" Taking in a sharp breath, he continued. "We are a part of the Black Dragon Clan Army, our unit is the Dragon Cavalry, and we are commanded by Lord Dilandau. You met him earlier…"

"Yes, a charming fellow…" Okami muttered sarcastically, still partially in shock about the whole ordeal.

Dallet snickered, and continued. "And by the way, you're on Gaea. Why you're here? Lord Folken will fill you in on that."

Throughout their conversation, the group had continued walking, until they entered a large, foreboding black fortress. Finishing their escort, the Dragon Cavalry paused outside a large set of double doors. "Lord Folken is inside, he's waiting for you." Dallet said, and he opened one of the doors, flashing a light smile at Kitsune.

Kitsune found herself blinking rapidly… yet again… blushing, and offering him a short, quick bow before scurrying inside, Okami right behind her. The door shut behind them, and immediately Kitsune felt what little sense of security she had felt break away from her. She desperately wanted those men, the Dragon Cavalry, back in the room with her.

There was an exceptionally tall figure standing before them, a strange hairstyle of a pale blue shade being the most noticeable trait. The figure moved toward them slightly, and the two girls bowed, more so out of fear than habit. The figure began to speak.

"Welcome, the Dark and the Light Star… I've been expecting you."

Kitsune could only offer a thin smile.

The tall figure they assumed to be Lord Folken smiled back, but it sent shivers through her. "You seem shaken… I hope that Dilandau hasn't frightened you in any way… He is a bit brash. Cocky, one supposes."

Kitsune remained still, while Okami shook her head. "I believe I have experienced worse…" The blonde young woman stated. Only after she fell silent, did she wish that she had never said anything.

Bearing an odd smile, Folken turned away. "I see." His boots clicked across the hard floor as the tall man made his way to his large windows, staring out into the dully lit night. "I suppose you are wondering… why it is that you are here?"

The two women shared a clipped glance. "I suppose you could say that, yes." Okami said, tone still gentle.

"The tattoos on your wrists… have you had them long?"

The two stiffened. "No." Kitsune said. "I've never seen it before now…"

"There is much you need to learn about this world, Gaea. Ours is a land of many legends, prophecies… But for over a thousand years there has been one prophecy that has struck fear into the hearts of Gaeans everywhere. This is the prophecy of the Escaflowne."

Again, Kitsune and Okami exchanged confused glances.

"… The Escaflowne is something greatly feared by all… because it can and will… destroy all of Gaea." Folken paused once more. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully, but the pausing only made the experience worse for the two girls. Even as he explained the prophecy, the girls couldn't swallow all of it. "But, the Escaflowne can only be summoned by the Wing Goddess."

"Wing… Goddess?" Kitsune repeated blankly.

"Yes. And she is in Gaea now." Folken paused again. Kitsune thought she'd go mad with the pausing. "That is where you come in. You are both very special people… Though I must admit you both seem very unaware of this. Do you understand just how powerful you both are?"

The girls stared back before Okami uttered a short, "No."

A short, haunting chuckle permeated the room. "I didn't think so, but you will know. Soon enough my little treasures… soon enough… The Escaflowne is powerful when activated, so powerful, it certainly will destroy the world. Your purpose on Gaea… is to stop it."

"Stop it?"

"Yes. The Wing Goddess is currently in the keep of an evil group of rebels, known as the Abaharaki. The Abaharaki will surely manipulate her power, to see the end of the world as we know it." Folken turned back to them. "You're tired from your journey, and I know this is a lot to take in. So please…" He gently escorted the pair back to the doors. "Feel free to think of my fortress as your temporary new home. Adjust, and we will talk more later."

Not knowing how else to respond, the two girls bowed politely, and followed two remaining Dragon Cavalry members to their rooms.

Folken shut the door with a snap, a broad, evil smirk contorting his features. A snicker followed.

"You lied to them." A soft, feminine voice stated from the shadows, and a woman with shock white hair and pale skin stepped out. A calm, yet worried expression clung to her beautiful features.

"Their true purpose may disagree with our cause, Sora, but the Spirit Stars can aid us… under appropriate persuasion of course…"

"The Spirit Stars will not take to being manipulated so lightly once they achieve their true powers. They'll destroy you, Lord Folken."

Folken could only laugh.

"… I can't do this. I just cannot adjust." Kitsune moaned behind the hands she placed over her face as she swayed in exasperation. "He makes it sound so… normal!" She moaned again and moved toward her window, opening it and staring out at the two moons in the sky… the Mystic Moon. "Mystic Moon. Makes the Earth sound so… magical." She snorted.

She couldn't take being in a room all alone right now. She was tired and her legs ached to collapse but she refused to fall into bed. It looked like a normal bed. It looked outright inviting. But she just couldn't do it. She was almost afraid that if she touched anything, the world would explode.

So she made a beeline for her door, and then promptly stopped, hearing male voices outside of her door.

"The Stars come by and suddenly lil Dalley's a mere delivery boy!"

"… Shut up, Shesta. Don't you have something better to do?"

The loud knock on her door made Kitsune jump and a high-pitched squeal erupted from her throat.

The gray-clad man with the light smile rushed in, not wearing his smile. "Light Star?"

"Yes?" She squeaked.

"You screamed. Are you all right?"

"… Uh huh!" She squeaked again.

Dallet smiled. "Okay. I brought you clothes to change into for tonight and more for tomorrow." He dropped the pile of clothes he'd been holding on her bed.

"… Ah… hai. Arigatou." She bowed awkwardly. "Anooo… I am going to visit Okami-chan…"

Dallet blinked.

"Oh, yeah, the, um, Dark Star…"

"Oh, I see." He nodded and laughed. "Very well. But I suggest you sleep. You seem weak." He held the door open for Kitsune to exit through.

"I'll be sure to do that…" Kitsune replied weakly, bowing yet again as she passed him. "… What?" Dallet was laughing again.

"You bow a lot. Is this a Mystic Moon custom?"

Kitsune offered him a half-smile. "… In some places." To the grey-clad man's arched brow she let her smile grow a little more. "I can explain it later, if you'd like…"

"Sounds good. Sleep well, Light Star…"

"Ano… you too…" Kitsune replied, almost bowing once AGAIN, but trying to hold herself back. Dallet was laughing quietly as he moved off, and Kitsune finished the few steps to Okami's room. She burst in and shut the door behind her. "Okami-chan!"

Despite the sudden interruption, the curly headed female didn't even flinch. She remained in her chair, facing her window, and rubbing her fingers gently over her new tattoo. No matter how much she touched it, it wouldn't come off. "Kitsune-chan? Just what have we gotten ourselves into?" She muttered weakly.

"I… I just don't know Okami-chan… I guess I'm still in shock about this whole thing."

"I think we asked for it…"

"What?"

"Think about it." Okami stood from her chair, but kept her back to Kitsune as she continued to gaze out the window. "We were talking about how it would be nice to leave the earth… and we did. And all this talk about 'Dark Star' and 'Light Star'? I'm not a 'Dark Star'! I'm a painter! I'm not up to beating Escaflownes and saving the world!" Okami choked as her words became frantic.

"Okami-chan, calm down." Kitsune said gently, placing a hand on Okami's tremulous shoulder. "Something tells me we're going to be just fine." A part of Kitsune wasn't entirely sure about that statement, but she felt as though she needed to comfort Okami. After all, they were all the other had right now.

"I hope you're right… truly… But perhaps we should take everyone's advice and get some sleep?"

Kitsune nodded hastily. "Hai, I think we're going to need our rest. Good night Okami-chan, try to sleep." After a brief nod from Okami, Kitsune returned to her own room.

But of course, Okami lied once again about trying to sleep. She flopped down in her chair again, eyes wide and mind reeling. She couldn't seem to shake the building feeling of dread in her gut, and despite Kitsune's comfort, Okami never felt more alone.

Okami was awake for a few more hours before she had finally decided to go to sleep. Without changing into the nightgown she had been awarded, she collapsed onto her bed and was sleeping instantaneously. The rest was so deep she actually felt relaxed, in spite of all that she had been through. She had hardly registered how much she had slept when a knock sounded from her door.

"Wake up call…" A male voice drawled, and Okami got up to answer the door. A member of the Dragon Cavalry sporting brown hair stiffly bowed to her, obviously not expecting her to answer the door right away.

"… I see you didn't make much use of the clothes we gave you…" He commented.

"No, I didn't. I was too tired to change…"

"Very well." The man shrugged it off, and marched just a few more steps to Kitsune's door. "Wake up call…" He drawled again, and the door once again opened. Kitsune was fully dressed in the clothes they had offered her.

"Ohayooooo…" Kitsune said through a yawn, swishing the white skirt of her asymmetrically cut dress about her bare feet. Shoes were the one thing they'd forgotten to provide.

The man blinked, paused, and then turned to go down the hallway. "This way…"

"Go on ahead without me… I would like to change." Okami bowed lightly and retreated back into her room.

This left the brown-haired man and Kitsune standing awkwardly in the hallway for a short moment. "Well… follow me…"

She obeyed him, trailing him by a couple steps. They walked down the hall in silence until they came upon a large dining room where all the members of the Dragon Cavalry that they had seen the previous night were already eating. Food was already set out on the table for them. The man that had escorted Kitsune motioned for her to sit, and she did so, cautiously poking at the strange-looking food placed on her plate.

Across the large table and a bit off to the right sat last night's delivery boy, who smiled again as he watched her poke at a purple sphere. "… I promise the food won't bite back. Try it."

"If it makes you sick you can vomit on him." Her escort smirked.

"Shut up, Miguel!" The delivery boy retorted.

She picked up the purple sphere, but made no motion to eat it yet. She pointed to her escort. "Miguel."

"Yes?"

"No, I mean, your name's Miguel." She pointed to what she could only remember as "the delivery boy." "And you are… D…"

"Dallet." He offered shortly, nodding to her. He began pointing to the other men seated about her. "And here we have Shesta, Gatti, Ryuon, and Guimel. Also known as Sheep Boy."

The man known as Guimel scowled in Dallet's direction. "Thanks, Dalley the Delivery Man."

Kitsune smiled. As time went on, they looked less like strange men from a different world and more like men she'd see on a daily basis. She pointed at herself. "Kitsune."

"Kitsune the Light Star." The all echoed.

"Please, just Kitsune. I don't want to sound like an oracle…"

"Kit…sune." Dallet tumbled over it a bit, but smiled in the end. "Kitsune it is, then!"

Okami stared at herself in her vanity mirror, fixing up her hair as best she could. It was a curse of curly hair, a hairbrush does nothing but make the existing problem worse. And without a shower, it was hard to make her hair look just the way she wanted it to. Sighing and settling for what she had, Okami smoothed out her black satin dress, pulling the sleeves over her wrists. She glanced down at her naked feet, frowning. "Oh well. Bare foot's cool, I guess." With that, she put the last few adjustments on her messy waist-length hair, and stepped out into the hallway.

She glanced out in the direction that Kitsune and her escort had left, again she frowned. "I guess I should have followed… Way to go, Okami, another genius point for you!" Shaking her head, she started off down the hall, having no idea where to go.

"Hey, you!" A voice echoed behind her.

Okami slowly turned around, recognizing that voice, and not really liking it. The man called Dilandau was coming up the hall towards her. His silver hair flashed in the dim light, and his ghostly skin almost glowed. If Okami wasn't so afraid of him, she would have thought of him as good-looking. "Yes?" Okami said, trying her best to keep her voice steady.

"You should be with the others." He said, stopping before her. "Why aren't you?"

Okami dropped her gaze. "I'm sorry, but I think I'm a bit lost." She dared to steal a glance at his face. His brow furrowed.

"Come with me." He said shortly, and headed off down the hallway.

What happened next actually surprised Okami. He didn't walk in front of her, like she was expecting, but beside her, never looking at her. Dilandau struck Okami as the type who liked to be the leader ALL the time, and thought of himself as better than everyone else. So why was he walking beside her? Was he afraid of her?

"In here." Dilandau opened a door, and the sound of several people talking and laughing flooded into the hall.

Okami paused before entering, knowing Dilandau wouldn't be following after. "You're name's… Dilandau, right?" She asked, daring to look at him in the eye. He stared back with narrow eyes, and gave a single stiff nod. "Thank you…" Okami lowered her gaze again and walked into the room. The door snapped shut behind her, and she stared at it, curiosity pounding her brain.

"Ah! Minna-san, this is Okami. Okami, meet Gatti, Shesta, Miguel, Guimel, Ryuon, and Dalley the Delivery Man." Kitsune greeted, finishing off the purple sphere that tasted strangely like bananas.

"What makes you think you have the right to call me that, Oracle?" Dalet replied, rolling his dark eyes and wearing a light smirk.

Okami bowed awkwardly to them. "… Ohayo."

The rest of the men nodded back and resumed their meals. She couldn't help but notice that the room was much quieter now. All of the men had become at least slightly reserved. Okami took her seat next to Kitsune, tossing her a questioning glance. Kitsune could only shrug back, not knowing what had gone wrong. Kitsune prodded something green on Okami's plate with a fork. "Try that… It tastes like strawberry pancakes…" She murmured quietly. A slight smile crossed a few of the Dragon Cavalry's faces.

Somehow, Okami had completely lost her appetite. She scanned across the table only to see those who were staring at her, look away quickly. Frowning, she jabbed at the green substance with her fork, feeling more and more unwelcome by the second.

Dallet, noticing the tension in the poor young woman, tried to make conversation. "So, uh… Okami? How long have you and Kitsune known each other?"

Okami pulled her eyes away from her plate. "Um… about two months, maybe?"

An awkward silence followed, and Kitsune found the urge to end it. "We're going to school together, we were assigned to share a room."

"So… you two never knew of each other before then?" Dallet pointed with his fork, his face confused. Almost too confused, like he didn't quite believe it.

"No." The two girls stated in unison, eyes wide.

"But that doesn't make any-"

Dallet was interrupted when the door swung open, and Dilandau, fully armored stepped inside. "Dragon Cavalry!" he barked, and every person sitting at the tables, save Okami and Kitsune, jumped to attention on their feet. "The Abaharaki have been spotted in a canyon not far from here. Everybody is to armor themselves and prepare your horses, now!"

There was a scramble as all the men scattered out the door, Dilandau stepping calmly to the side. When the room was empty, he approached Kitsune and Okami. "Folken has ordered that you come along too. Can you ride a horse?"

Both girls nodded.

"Good. Armor has been made for you, we leave in twenty minutes." With that, Dilandau stalked out of the room.

Kitsune turned to Okami. "Did he just say 'armor'?"

Okami just shrugged, eyes wide.

**To be continued… **


	3. Chapter 3

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 3

"This… sucks." Kitsune said, displeased with the effect the gray armor, accented in silver, had on her body. It worked too hard at giving her shape, the bits of silver cleverly placed to accentuate her bosom and her hips. She felt like she was lying about her body, making false curves.

"How do you think I feel?" Okami retorted, her curves also brought out with the lines of her armor. "I'm way too curvaceous, now…"

"Step on out, if you two are fully dressed, now," Dallet called, and the two girls cautiously stepped out. "… Oh, you both look okay. Don't worry about it. This way." He led them off, and neither of the two girls were fully convinced with his reassurance.

"Dallet?" Kitsune asked.

"Yes?"

"Was the person who made this armor… male?"

"… Yes… Why do you ask?"

"That explains it, I guess," Okami muttered to herself.

"No reason." Kitsune told him.

Dallet arched a brown brow at them, and turned to Gatti, who approached them with two large, dark… demonic-looking horses. "Oh, thanks, Gatti. Kitsune, Okami, here are your horses."

They were both impressed with the size and appearance of the horses. Just looking at them might be able to scare the snot out of the enemy, as the two animals stared down at them through iron masks, steam escaping their heads.

Kitsune usually made it a point to like cute, tiny, brightly colored things… She developed an attachment to the horses, anyway, as she reached up high to pet her chosen horse's muzzle.

"Alright everyone, mount up!" Dilandau's voice could be heard over the milling Cavalry, and every member did as they were told.

Slipping her foot easily into the stirrup, Okami mounted in a single fluid motion. It had been so long since she had ridden a horse, and it felt good to be in the saddle again. She stole a glance at Kitsune, and smiled. Kitsune seemed to know what she was doing, but Okami noted that her feet were too far into the stirrups. She chuckled but just let it go. After all, not everyone lived on a horse ranch in a former life.

"Dragon Cavalry, move out! Second Infantry is to stay near the Stars until we reach the canyon, understand?" The group of men, lead by Dilandau took off in the sunset, the oranges and reds of the sky tinting everything about them, including themselves. The Stars were following Dilandau closely, with all the Second Infantry behind and to the sides of them, forming their fence of security about them as they rode on at a swift gallop. The two girls watched the scene turn into red dust and dirt along a flat ground as they came closer to their destination. Kitsune seemed happy for the wind rushing by her, but Okami felt fenced in. She literally WAS fenced in. Okami wanted to break out and ride away from the vast group of soldiers, but she knew that would've brought no good with a man like Dilandau for a leader. But suddenly, Dilandau slowed and came to a stop, and everyone else followed suit. They were finally at the canyon.

They halted their horses at its steep lip, and immediately a lone Cavalry member rode up to them. "Dilandau-sama!" he said. "The Abaharaki caravan is a mile up the gorge, they should be here inside of fifteen minutes!"

"Thank you, Gret. Take your position in line." Dilandau said, almost dangerously. When Gret took his position, Okami saw an insane sparkle in his eye as a smirk crossed his face. "We wait here!" He said, loudly for all his men to hear. "We wait for our prey to come to us."

Okami shifted in her saddle, wondering why it is that Folken ordered her and Kitsune to come with them. What purpose could they possible serve? Okami had never held a sword in her entire life, and something told her Kitsune was no kendo master, either. Frowning, Okami noticed a loose piece of armor on the wither of Dilandau's horse. Swallowing deeply, she dismounted.

"Okami-chan?" Kitsune said, following her with worried eyes.

Reassuring her with a nod and a smile, Okami made her way to Dilandau's stationary horse. She was sure she had startled him by her sudden appearance beside him, and he glared at her. "What are you doing?" He muttered darkly.

Without answering, Okami began to fix the small, hanging piece of armor. Dilandau's hard gaze weakened. "It seemed as though it was making him uncomfortable." Okami said quietly, avoiding the commander's gaze, as she smoothed out the armor. Dilandau's horse turned his armored head to bump her hip. "Hey!" she giggled. "Cut that out!" Smiling, Okami slid a hand under a faceplate to stroke the soft fur beneath. The horse let out an odd purr and blissfully fluttered his eyes.

Dilandau didn't quite know what to make of the situation. These horses had been bred to be fearless vehicles for the Black Dragon Clan army, and yet his own horse was acting FRIENDLY to a mere woman? And to the Dark Star to top it all off? Strangely enough, Dilandau was oddly captivated by the sight. He was almost mesmerized by the vision of Okami giggling when his horse would bump her with his nose again, frustrated that she had stopped stroking him.

Kitsune found the situation adorable, and could not help but giggle, herself. Now that all this tension was building up around her, she was honestly glad to see that at least a horse was willing to stop and be loving. She smiled and continued to laugh, blinking back tears that were forming out of each laugh that left her throat. Yet as she did so, a disturbing thought... no, a picture, came to mind: a picture of the loving horse lying in shreds upon the dusty ground. She stiffened and her laughs stopped short in her mouth, but she quickly dismissed the disturbing vision, pasting an unsure smile onto her face to replace the genuine one.

"Hey, you ok?" A worried voice pulled Kitsune away from her visions.

"Ano..." Kitsune turned to see that Dallet had ridden up to her, the light smile that usually sat on his face gone. "... Yeah..." She tried to smile wider but was sure she looked dumb. "I'm fine."

Unconvinced, Dallet opened his mouth to say something, when he was interrupted by a frantic voice.

"Dilandau-sama!"

"What is it!" Dilandau barked, annoyed.

"The Abaharaki caravan! It's at the entrance of the gorge, sir!"

"Ah." A satanic gleam shimmered in Dilandau's pink eyes. "You should return to your horse now." He giggled, an inhuman mirth that sent Okami back to her horse quickly.

Okami threw a worried, anxious glance at Kitsune. There was something wrong, she could sense it. Kitsune was scared, troubled by something, and Okami knew it wasn't the battle. In the gorge, an enormous caravan pulled by oxen the size of a house appeared, moving at a leisurely pace.

"Jajuka, is that it? Folken wants whatever's inside that thing?" Again, Dilandau giggled his spine-tingling giggle. "What's it like inside, Shesta?"

All eyes, spare Dilandau's, glued to the blonde-headed Shesta. His blue eyes widened as he threw his head back, staring eerily at the heavens as his breath became interspersed with low gasping. "Yes, sir. I can see…" He gasped again, his voice low and whispery. "Lowest deck, starboard side… a girl in white at the stables… I can see her…" With a final, callous gasp, Shesta's body slumped forward as he caught his breath once more.

"A girl in white?" Dilandau muttered, glaring at the approaching caravan.

Okami stole a glimpse at Kitsune, who looked as confused and frightened as she did. Okami took in a sharp breath when a creature riding a horse, moved up through the line. It was a beast, yet a man as well. The Dark Star stared in bewilderment and fear at the creature she had somehow missed in the riding ranks.

"Lord Dilandau, we must make this plan work." The beastman's voice was calming, soft, and Okami felt a bit more at ease when he spoke.

"All we need to do is snatch the wing goddess, right?" Dilandau barked, annoyed at the beastman's condescension. "I know that. But you know… Why can't we just kill them all?"

"The Abaharaki are professional fighters." The beastman said. "If we lose too many of our men because we ignored orders-"

The scabbard of a sword swung and connected with the beastman's cheek, and he was promptly knocked out of his saddle. Kitsune blinked, the event having happened so fast it took a moment to process.

"Enough of your babbling." Dilandau snarled. "It's getting _dark_ already." Shouldering his sword, Dilandau looked to the sky, that insane gleam still present. "It's hunting time. Beastmen!" He yelled out.

Okami had to hold in her startled scream when several more beastmen seemed to come out of the ground. They appeared everywhere, some holding blades, others having barrels strapped to their back. "You lead the charge." Dilandau said to them. "You know your jobs." The beastmen then disappeared as quickly as they came. "Dallet!" Dilandau brandished his sword.

"Yes sir?"

"Stay with the Spirit Stars." Dilandau said, calming his anxious horse. "No harm must come to them, understand? Stay out of sight until we retrieve the wing goddess."

"Yes, sir!"

Dilandau locked his gaze with Okami for a moment, a meaningful glance that for once, Okami couldn't read. The contact was broken almost as soon as it was made, and Dilandau spun his horse and charged down the canyon after the beastmen, the rest of the Cavalry in tow. Idly, Okami wondered which Cavalry members she wouldn't be seeing again. But then she quickly shook her head, aghast at herself. What a morbid thought! And yet, part of her didn't seem to care. It was strange; usually she would be distraught over something like that.

"Kitsune! Okami!" Dallet broke Okami's thoughts. "The caravan is moving quickly down the gorge, we have to keep up!"

Nodding, the two girls ran their horses behind Dallet's as they moved down the lip of the gorge, keeping pace with the caravan as it fled from the Cavalry. Okami watched as a beastman, adorned with a barrel, clung to one of the caravan's enormous wheels. An explosion ripped the wheel apart and the caravan slid to a halt.

"Okami-chan!" Kitsune called, beckoning Okami away from the gorge's edge. Okami, captivated by the battle, managed to follow orders and dismount her horse. Dallet took its reigns and led them away from the rim, crawling closely to the ground. In spite of the heaviness of the situation at hand, Okami almost found their position funny: They were army-crawling away from being seen.

"Here. We'll be fine here." Dallet told them, coming to a halt and sitting up just slightly. The three of them watched over the battle, far from any harm. Dallet shifted his brown gaze to the two girls, watching Kitsune frowning deeply. "… Maybe you shouldn't watch, Kitsune…"

She shook her head. "… No. I think I should." She watched a horse run off with, of all things, a girl lying on it. An average-looking, short-haired schoolgirl from, of all places, Earth. One horse followed, and then the Dragon Cavalry chased after them. "An Earth girl…? Okami-chan… Did you see... OKAMI-CHAN!" Kitsune called out, frantic, as Okami suddenly jumped to her feet.

"Okami! Get DOWN! What are you DOING?" Dallet yelled, moving toward her.

Not only did Okami fail to answer, she sprinted towards her horse, shedding bits of armor as she went.

"Okami-chan!" Kitsune cried, panicked over her sudden reckless actions.

When Okami finally reached her horse, she had discarded every piece of her armor, leaving only her black tank top, pants and boots. Without using a stirrup, she flung herself smoothly into the saddle and was off, racing her horse up the gorge's brim to where the Cavalry was headed.

"OKAAAAAMI!" Kitsune cried frantically, jumping up as well.

Dallet's first instinct was to pull Kitsune down, but what good would that have done when he had to go after Okami? "… SHHHHHIIIT." He cursed loudly, standing as well. "Get your horse; we're following her!"

Kitsune nodded and quickly mounted, and the two of them left swiftly. Dallet was cursing under his breath until he came to a halt. Kitsune slowed down beside him. "Okami is so reckless… Is she always like this?"

"I wouldn't know… I've only known her for a couple months, remember?"

Dallet shot her a look that told her not to give him lip.

"… What?" Kitsune asked him.

"… Nothing." He watched as Okami stopped a few short paces away from Dilandau, who had just killed a beastman. Kitsune flinched slightly upon seeing the corpse. "… Turn away, Kitsune."

"N-no…" Kitsune refused again.

"You want to see the blood?"

"… I think I'll be seeing a lot more soon, anyway…" Kitsune murmured.

Dallet couldn't respond to her words, and Dilandau's voice rose up to them. "Oh well, hit the wrong target, but it doesn't matter… He was useless, anyway." His voice dripped with carelessness. "All we need to do is snatch that girl, right? We don't need the guy, do we?" They could not see his smile. "So… I can do as I like, right?"

There was a human man down by the Earthling schoolgirl whose identity was unknown to Kitsune, but she watched him cringing in his anger and take a step forward…

It all happened so quick, it took everyone by surprise with the exception of Kitsune. The ground beneath the man's feet split, fiery-hot lava emerging from the crack that grew and traveled up to Dilandau's position. Dilandau's horse was in the air, struggling… "Oh my God…" Kitsune whimpered.

"What is it, Kitsune?" Dallet asked. Kitsune didn't answer, but watched, wide-eyed, as Dilandau's horse gave out a cry and was ripped to shreds by the human man's power.

Kitsune let out a high scream as she watched Dilandau fall to the ground, surrounded by the horses torn remnants, covered with the horse's blood.

The beastman that had previously spoken with Dilandau before the Dragon Cavalry's attack began called out demandingly, "SPREAD OUT! He was magical powers; leave some distance!"

Everyone followed the order with the exception of Okami and Dilandau, who had been caught in the split ground that formed from this strange human man's power. "Kitsune…!" Dallet called out to the Light Star. She wasn't moving. She was frozen as she stared in silent shock at the exact replica of her morbid vision, made into real life. "Kitsune, what are you doing?" He rode back up to her. "Come ON!" He yelled, and finally Kitsune shook off her shock and moved away with him.

Meanwhile, Okami's horse was panicking. She fought to keep the raging horse under control, but it reared in a fury, knocking Okami off. She hit the ground hard, stunned as her frightened horse charged off. Blinking the stars from her eyes, she tried to get up, but her body screamed with pain. So she settled with propping herself up with her elbows, to see Dilandau still laying a short distance from her.

Okami watched as Dilandau lay on the ground for a short while… and then began to laugh. "That's right… you were with the Abaharaki. I forgot." He giggled psychotically, a cruel smile curling his pale lips. "I get it… You're the dragon I've heard so much about…" Dilandau stood now, ignoring the horse blood on his body, or maybe even enjoying it, for how… genuinely evil he sounded.

The human man Dilandau called a dragon began to speak to the Earthling schoolgirl. "Hitomi! Get behind me!" And the Earthling schoolgirl known as Hitomi promptly obeyed.

Dilandau simply stood casually as a bloody mess, resting his sword upon his shoulder. It had begun to rain and Okami watched it fall down over the land. The pain in her body weakened, and she managed to fight shakily to her feet, and seek cover near a boulder. She glanced back to Kitsune and Dallet, who were frozen as they stared back at her, Dallet wearing a worried, half-angry frown, Kitsune paralyzed in fear.

Dilandau let loose another evil giggle. "Oh, no… This is terrible. I'm drenched. I hate the rain… it makes me so depressed. One of my soldiers just died…" A sneer crossed his face. "But he was a fool to die. If you're strong, you don't die." The sneer became a sadistic smile. "Now… it's time to play. Let's have some fun."

The girl known as Hitomi screamed out in fear. "VAN!"

Okami watched as Dilandau sent out an energy wave aimed right for the man named Van, but he skillfully blocked and charged at the crazed Dilandau. Metal met metal as their swords clashed and pushed against each other. The ground beneath their feet flew up about them, the sheer force of the two men tearing up the earth as they continued to fight. Dilandau's sword shattered from Van's power, but he was quick to send the shards in Van's path as he dived in, making an attempt to kill Dilandau. It was a blatantly foolish move, for one of the metal shards of Dilandau's broken sword bit into Van's flesh. Dilandau went flying from another of Van's energy waves. Van's pierced body hit the ground as rain pounded, lightening struck, the land continued to rip and fly like chaos had begun.

Horrified, Okami watched as the ground beneath her feet began to crumble away, falling away into the endless void beneath. "SHIT!" Without thinking, Okami sprinted towards the safe ground that wasn't collapsing. She dove for it as her footing disappeared, and as she landed, more fell away then she anticipated. She was left hanging by her arms, dangling over certain death. To make her situation worse, she was slipping. Before she fell, she felt an arm around her waist, pulling her to the side. It was Dilandau. Somehow he had found refuge on the tiniest of outcroppings on the newly formed cliff-face.

Dilandau clutched Okami protectively to his chest as more stones fell around them. In return, she clung to him, petrified. After a few moments, the mayhem died down, and the earth was still. Okami listened to the steady rhythm of Dilandau's heart, the only sound that pounded in her ears.

"Are you alright?" His voice broke through Okami's thoughts.

"Y-yes." Okami stuttered, wondering why Dilandau was still holding her so tightly.

"I told Dallet to keep you out of sight." His tone was angry, dangerous.

"Gomen nasaii. It was my fault, please don't be upset with Dallet."

"Dilandau-sama!" Miguel's face appeared above them, reaching a hand down.

Dilandau gripped her shoulders pushing her gently away. "Don't put yourself in danger again." He said sternly, eyes boring into hers.

Confused, Okami couldn't answer before Miguel's hand clutched hers, pulling her off of the ledge and up to safety.

"O-Okami-chan!" Kitsune called out urgently. "Are you okay? What were you THINKING?"

"I… don't know." Okami turned her gaze to the ledge where Dilandau was climbing out of the crevasse with little help. He locked his gaze with hers, and Okami didn't know quite what to think.

Blue candlelight shed it's deceptive radiance through a large room. Folken stood regally at the top of a short set of stairs. Okami and Kitsune stood in the room's corner, curious as to why Folken had summoned Dilandau here.

Dilandau knelt at a distance before Folken, a glimmer of nervousness showing in his eyes.

"Why didn't you follow my orders, Dilandau?"

There was something dangerous in Folken's voice. Something domineering and evil; Okami could sense it, and it made her uneasy.

"I ordered you to bring back the Wing Goddess." Folken continued. "Instead you got yourself mired in useless battles. You fool." A candle fluttered when Folken grit his teeth. Okami's stomach churned when Dilandau was assaulted by an invisible force. Contortions in his neck indicated he was being choked by that force as he sputtered and gasped. The strained creaking of Dilandau's leather became a nightmarish melody as his arm was forced to warp and twist. "Who was the one who saved you from roaming in the wild with feral dogs?" Folken persisted, malice in his tone. "Who was it!"

Dilandau's finger snapped, and he gasped and cried out weakly. "You, Lord Folken."

Kitsune shuddered under the sharp snap of bone. She immediately began to regret coming here to see what Folken had wanted. She'd already seen more violence than she was accustomed to, and she didn't need to see any more. She thought she might scream if she saw more… She decided she would leave if she saw more.

Heedless of Kitsune's discomfort, Folken continued his battery on Dilandau. "Who has given you command of the Dragon Cavalry? Who!" Another finger snapped, and Dilandau cried out once more.

"You did, Lord Folken!" Dilandau was dropped roughly to the floor, having been released from the force's hold.

Kitsune had to bite her lip to keep from crying out with Dilandau, but a muffled whimper made its way from her throat, and she quickly turned to leave the room.

Gasping and cringing on the floor, Dilandau let out an angry cry as he shot his own green energy as a meager revenge for his pain. It was unsuccessful. His attempt dispersed easily around Folken and as punishment, Dilandau received a heavy, bloody blow to his chin. Dilandau collapsed heavily onto the floor, stunned and twitching.

"You are one of the remaining few on Gaea with Dragon Clan blood coursing through your veins." Folken's voice soon adopted a forgiving, yet still wicked, tone. "Although you are of lower birth that blood possesses magical power. I have great expectations of that power of yours."

Dilandau could only mutter his weak reply. "I…"

"Dilandau… if you desire, I will give you a new power. A power befitting a scion of the Dragon Clan." An odd smile played across the blue-headed man's lips.

"I want that new power…"

"Good. Arrangements will be made." With that, Folken made his way to the door, leaving the bleeding Dilandau alone. He approached Okami, whose face held a passive, mistrusting expression. "… You think I'm cruel?" Folken said.

"No. I think you are a fraud…" She said, eyes smoldering into his. "You aren't out to save this world. You want the opposite." The Dark Star didn't wait to see his response, she walked past him to the bleeding side of Dilandau.

A frown hovered on Folken's face, a dangerous one, as he walked calmly out of the room.

Okami paid no regard to Folken's anger. Kneeling next to the dazed Dilandau, she tore off the bottom of her tank top and began to clean away the blood on his chin.

"You…" Dilandau said weakly, trying to sit up. "You're going to pity me now… aren't you?"

Okami helped him into a sitting position, watching him cradle the hand of his broken fingers. "… Would you want me to?"

"No." He said firmly.

"Then I won't." Okami reached gently for his hand, only to have him flinch away. "It's alright, it'll only hurt for a second." Frowning, Dilandau let her take his hand. With a quick snap, Dilandau's fingers were reset. He grit his teeth with the pain, but within a few seconds, he found himself feeling better. "Look." Okami continued as she slid closer. "I don't know how, or why it is that you are here. But regardless… it's your decision to be here. It's your decision to take this abuse. I wouldn't take pity on you… even if you asked me to."

Dilandau was taken aback by Okami's words, though for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. It wasn't like he needed anyone's pity, anyway. If she had given him pity, he might've slapped her for it… right? So maybe he was grateful that Okami did not give him pity. Maybe just a little bit. Sort of. Dilandau blinked a bit, observing his reset hand that still had a dull throb to it. "It… IS my decision to take it. And you will never catch me asking for your pity, Dark Star." His mouth was set at a firm line.

Okami frowned. "I have a name, you know." She said bluntly.

"Well, now, you haven't exactly told me yet now have you?" Dilandau bit out sharply. His words rang too loud in the silent room. "… What is it, anyway?" He asked more quietly.

Part of her wasn't expecting him to even ask. She anticipated him just blowing it off, and having a good excuse to call her 'Dark Star' for as long as they knew each other. She looked down. "… It's Okami…"

"Okami…? Odd name." He said idly.

"I suppose it fits."

"Does it?" Dilandau asked boredly. "Do you actually have three eyes and a tail or two? Because you look fairly normal to me."

Okami felt a stab of sadness in her heart. "Don't pretend that you know what it's like where I come from. There… I'm nothing but an ainoko… a half-breed. A freak. A creature undeserving of sharing the same air as those I live with." Her voice was bitter. "But you could never understand something like that, could you?" Angered, she got to her feet. "I would kill to look… 'fairly normal'…"

The accusation that he would never understand her made Dilandau feel offended. Regardless of whether it was true or not. "I'm not saying that I know what that Mystic Moon is like, am I? But you CAN'T say that I don't know what Gaea is like… And in these parts, you are so normal, you look almost boring." A pause. "Does that make you feel better at all?" He mumbled moodily.

"No. Because even if I do look normal, people still look at me with fear here. Once again, Kitsune is the loved one, and I am the outcast." Okami stated simply. "So it doesn't matter if you think I'm boring or not, because even when I leave Earth, I'm still hated and misunderstood."

Dilandau scowled. "Sorry, then, Okami. Because I'm not misunderstood at all."

Okami immediately felt guilty for being so standoffish, because it was obviously true. She could sense it from the first time they met, there was something lurking below Dilandau's surface, something not as evil as he liked to make it out. "Dilandau… do you feel alone?"

Dilandau blinked and stared at Okami with a searching, piercing gaze. "… Don't we all?" He answered question with question, not feeling comfortable saying yes or no. He didn't know if Okami would take it for an honest answer or a sarcastic one. He'd let Okami think what she wanted.

His questioning answer, told Okami exactly what she needed to know. "You know… when you're forced to think something for so long… you eventually begin to believe that it's the truth. But when you find that it's not… you can feel truly free for the first time in your life…" Okami headed for the door, and paused in the threshold. "By the way… thank you."

"For what?"

"You saved my life… I believe a 'thank you' is appropriate." With that, she left Dilandau alone, surrounded by splatters of his own blood.

**To be continued… **


	4. Chapter 4

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 4

Kitsune left the room Dilandau was being so harshly abused in, and she kept right on walking, refusing to look back. She wondered why Okami managed to swallow all the violence they'd run into in just one day… and she couldn't take it. The images of men bleeding and a horse being ripped apart ran through her mind more vividly than she would have liked it. The snap of Dilandau's fingers rang too loudly in her mind. Kitsune's breath came out ragged, and she thought she'd go mad.

"Light Star!" It was Gatti.

"Kitsune… I'm just Kitsune…!" She responded.

Gatti shrugged it off. "Are you okay? You look kinda pale."

"I feel kinda… unclean." She did, inside and out. "Where are the showers in this place?"

"Downstairs to the left three doors, but the door's on your right."

"Arigato." Kitsune bowed and moved off quickly.

"But, Light St- Kitsu-" Kitsune was already gone. "THERE ARE MOSTLY MEN HERE, IF YOU GET WHAT I'M SAYING!"

Kitsune heard a horse's cry and Dilandau's fingers much more clearly than Gatti's parting words. All she cared about right now was hot water. She personally hoped it would be therapy enough for her sorry head.

There it was, the door to the showers. "Therapy time because Kitsune needs it." She said to herself and marched right in. It was steamy, and hard to see at first, and the blast of heat that hit her face made her stop for a moment. Very slowly the steam was starting to dissipate and Kitsune made her way forward, hand to her head.

And then she froze.

There was a body, a distinctly male body, already there. What's more, the showers were completely open… and the steam was almost all gone now. Kitsune made out the features of a very well-built, wet man and listened to him sigh heavily as he completely shut off the water. The long, dark hair falling over his face reminded her distinctly of the Earthling beach boy that Okami and Kitsune had fondly called Mr. Pure Sex. Alarms were going off in her head as she watched him turn...

Oh. My. God. Those were the ONLY three words that Kitsune could successfully form in her head. She must have been ten THOUSAND shades of red… What she saw was definitely worth MORE than just the cliché ten shades.

She witnessed the tight muscles of his stomach tighten more out of shock. She moved her shy gaze upward, and it was only then that she realized that she had been holding her breath, because it came out in a hazy cloud puff to cover his face… cover Dallet's face.

The hazy cloud disappeared and Dallet's face reappeared. He was staring right back at her, fairly blankly. He maintained the expressionless, practiced face of a soldier as his eyes bore into Kitsune. She nearly screamed when Dallet reached out, lightening quick and grabbed a towel to wrap around his more… intimate areas. Dallet looked at her again, but this time around he seemed far more questioning. "Kitsune what the Hell are you doing he-"

"Gomen, gomen!" She blushed again, she bowed again, and she left the showers in a hurry. Dallet could only stare after her.

"Lord Folken?" A woman in white addressed her master as he knelt between his precious two candles, shrouded in his black cloak.

"Sora?" Folken said, head still bowed. "Can you sense the Dark Star?"

A pause. "Yes. Her power grows strong."

Laughing an inhuman, sadistic chuckle, Folken rose to shed his cloak. "This is going to present a problem, is it not?"

"Of course. You have manipulated the Stars foolishly, and the Dark Star is beginning to recognize this."

"Then I suppose we'll just have to fix this little problem, won't we?"

Frustrated, Okami stomped down the hallway, ignored frightened passerby as they jumped out of her way. It didn't matter, because even when she was happy and smiling, people would still avoid her like she was a sword-wielding psychopath. What the hell was going on? Whatever it was, she was determined to find out, but finding out who to ask was her only real obstacle. There was no way she was asking Folken, she knew she couldn't trust that guy as far as she could throw him. And everyone else was scared of her. Except…

In her deep thought, Okami ran headlong into, of all people, Dilandau.

"Hey, watch it!" Dilandau barked.

"Dilandau, there you are!" Okami ignored his angry outburst. "I've been looking for you!"

"…Ok? Why?"

"Is there someplace we can go to talk?" Okami said, eyes innocently pleading. "…Please?"

Dilandau frowned. Just say no, he said to himself. It's not hard, just say it. But her troubled eyes actually managed to tug on his heart strings. He rolled his eyes. "Alright, in here." He opened a door to his left, motioning her to enter.

She did, and she found herself in a bedroom. A glass case with a familiar looking armor stood in the corner, and a magnificent red four-poster bed sat next to a beautiful mahogany desk. "Wow… this looks expensive."

Dilandau rolled his eyes. "Have a seat and get to the point." He shut the door, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Fine." Instead of 'having a seat', Okami flopped down on the bed. "Dilandau… you're the only one around here that doesn't tremble at the mere sight of me. I won't ask Folken. I don't trust him. So I'm here to ask you, why is it that everyone is so terrified of me?"

Dilandau continued to stare blankly, wondering why it was that Okami found it necessary to lay on his bed. "And you trust me enough to ask _me_?"

Okami paused, mainly asking herself if she really did trust him that much. She sat up, propping herself up on her elbows. "Do I have anyone else?"

Dilandau continued to stare, his red eyes burning into her. "… I suppose not. I'm flattered… I think." He frowned in confusion.

"Well don't get too excited. It's not exactly a life-changing experience." Okami fully sat up, crossing her legs before her. "So are you going to answer my question, or not?"

Dilandau frowned. "…Are you sure you want to know?"

"Would I have asked if I wasn't?"

Gritting his teeth, he stiffly nodded his head. "Alright." Dilandau sat himself at the foot of his bed, keeping his back to Okami. "Ancient Gaea was destroyed by the Escaflowne, but once, Gaea was close to total destruction again. Before the Spirit Stars got their name, they were known simply as the Guardians. They would descend from the Heavens whenever Gaea was in need. They've fought in every war, sometimes on opposing sides…"

"So how does that make people hate me?"

"Would you let me finish!" Dilandau barked.

"Gomen."

Turning profile to Okami, Dilandau continued. "About 500 years ago, the Guardians descended for the Great War. The Great War carved Gaea into the separate countries and Clans we know today." Dilandau pointed out, seeing Okami's confused face. "However… one of the Guardians took a separate side from the other. She grew obsessed with her own power, and when she performed her summoning, her Spirit possessed her. Consumed by her hatred and greed, she killed the other Guardian, and proceeded to annihilate every human, beastman and structure in her anger-torn path."

Okami sat in a sort of shock, trying to figure out when Dilandau would start laughing, and say 'April Fools!'. But he didn't. "What stopped her…?"

"No one's really sure. But before she disappeared, she swore that her successor, which she called 'The Dark Star'… would finish what she started." Dilandau finally looked at Okami, who looked completely stunned. He felt something heavy in his chest. Was it pity? "People believe that it was her that sent you here. To pick up where she left off…"

"… Do you believe that?"

"I'm not sure what I believe. I don't know you that well, do I?" Dilandau got to his feet, and he couldn't bring himself to look at her.

At that moment, Okami wondered why she had asked him. She knew he would act like this. "I'm sorry to have bothered you." An underlying tone of sarcasm could be heard in her quiet voice.

"I'm not bothered." Dilandau stated plainly.

"And you are so convincing." Okami muttered.

Dilandau held up his broken hand. "I've had a BAD DAY. Give me a break!" He snapped. "… Sorry about… all the Dark Star stuff… It's unfair to start off with bad first impressions."

Taken aback by his unexpected apology, Okami smiled. "Wow." She said. "So you're human after all."

Dilandau went wide-eyed and then quickly put on a scowl. "Don't make me vomit! Human? I'd rather light a human on FIRE than be one!" He scoffed. "I'm just saying sorry…"

Okami just smiled, feeling better than she had in a very long time. "Well thanks…" She stood next to him, and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "For being human…" With that she left the room, shutting the door.

Dilandau stood frozen, his eye spasming with the lingering feeling of Okami's kiss just under it. "… But I'm NOT HUMAN!" He tried convincing himself, slamming his fist on his mahogany desk. "OW, SHIT!"

Kitsune tried her hardest to maintain some sort of stable breathing rhythm as she stood with her back pressed against her room's door. She'd seen Dallet naked!

Somehow, the act of seeing a man naked – a fairly normal event compared to seeing a horse rip apart in mid-air – had a larger impact on her than any of the other events at hand!

It was because he was attractive. Her hormones were still equivalent to a rampant teenager's. "STUPID!" She slapped herself sharply across her cheek. "OW!" She cursed silently, and then sighed, sliding to the floor. "… Maybe it's better that way, anyway..." Kitsune fought the urge to slap herself again. She'd just admitted that it was far better thinking of Dallet naked than of any of the blood she'd witnessed so far.

Well, it was true, wasn't it?

Oh, that was naughty… "Kitsune you are NOT WINNING." She moaned.

There was a soft knock on her door that caused Kitsune to jump up and throw open her door, her cheek still glowing red from her slap. "Hi, Okami-chan!"

"Um… What happened to your cheek?"

Kitsune blinked rapidly and covered her face. Not that it helped any. "Ano… I was kinda flustered, so I kinda put myself back together… And kinda… kinda slapped myself."

"Kinda?"

"Kinda!" Kitsune agreed.

"Jesus… What the hell happened?" Okami walked into the room, turning back to stare with almost frightened eyes.

"… Welllll…" Kitsune blushed so bad Okami couldn't see the slap marks anymore. "Okami-chan I…"

Okami waited patiently.

"IwalkedinonDalletshowering." Kitsune whispered quickly.

"You did WHAT!" Okami didn't know whether to be sympathetic or laugh her ass off.

"I didn't MEAN to!" Kitsune cried. "I wanted to go take a shower and in case you haven't noticed our rooms do NOT have bathrooms, and I walked in and just… oh my God… and… oh my God…" Kitsune turned away. "It was so BAD! … Well, it's wasn't BAD bad, but it was just… so BAD!" She squealed and then promptly slapped herself again. "Ow!"

"Kitsune-chan stop that!" Okami restrained Kitsune's hands before she could inflict anymore damage. "So when you say it wasn't BAD bad… you mean it was good right?" A huge grin formed on Okami's face as she watched Kitsune's cheeks turn redder.

"It… it…" Kitsune squealed again, her restrained hands trying to flail. "It was…" She wanted to just explode. "Oh my God, if anyone asks you cannot say ANYTHING!"

"Who am I gonna tell? Folken?"

Kitsune blinked. "This is true… Okay… Ano…" She paused and then squealed again. "It was so GOOD! GAHHHH! I SOUND LIKE A PSYCHO!"

Okami couldn't contain herself anymore, and she erupted into a loud, giddy laughter, hardly able to keep herself from collapsing. "This is ssssoooo priceless, Kitsune-chan!"

"I KNOW! … Wait, why are you LAUGHING? Don't be laughing at me! I mean, this is NOT FUNNY! It's so unfunny, it's ANTI-FUNNY, okay?" Kitsune bellowed. "… But Dallet is so…" She coughed. "Oh God, this is horrible… How old am I again? I've forgotten!" She cried and buried her head in his hands. "… Dallet is the REAL Mr. Pure Sex." She whispered.

"I'm laughing because this is FUNNY!" Okami wiped tears from her eyes. "And of COURSE Dallet is the real Mr. Pure Sex! He IS pretty damned sexy, after all! So tell me…" She tried her best to calm her laughter. "Does he have a six pack? Or were you looking a little south of the border?"

Kitsune's eyes nearly fell out of her head. "Answering your first question, yes. Answering your second… That was almost a complete accident, so there!"

"Oh that was NO accident, Kitsune-chan! YOU'RE the one who was so curious! So you looked!"

"I wasn't curious about anything!" She retorted. "I mean… sure, he's cute and all… well, more than that, he is Mr. Pure Sex… But… I mean… EVEN IF I AM A LITTLE CURIOUS THAT DOESN'T MEAN I RAN INTO THE SHOWERS SPECIFICALLY TO SEE HIM! I wanted to take a shower, that's all… And I just got something else instead."

"A little something _special_? Or is it going to be classified as 'mortifying' for the rest of your life?" Okami sighed. "What a waste…"

Kitsune gasped. "DALLET IS NOT MORTIFYING!" She screamed, and then nearly stopped breathing as she heard the heavy thud of boots traveling down the hallway.

"Of course not! You said it yourself, Dallet is the real Mr. Pur-"

"SHHHHHH! Shut up shut up SHUT UP!" Kitsune cried. Dallet stood in Kitsune's doorway, fully clothed and trying to maintain a strict warrior's face, but it quickly fell off as he saw Kitsune clamping her hand tightly over Okami's mouth.

"… Hi." Dallet waved.

"Hi!" Kitsune smiled and beamed at him.

"… What are you doing to Okami?"

Okami's face was red, and she immediately started clawing at Kitsune's fingers. Kitsune quickly realized that she was covering poor Okami's nose and mouth, and quickly pulled her hand away. "Damn it!" Okami gasped. "Are you trying to kill me!"

"No!" Kitsune snapped.

Dallet blinked. "Mm-hmm… Well… Okami?"

"Yes?"

"I just got back from… a little 'chat' with Lord Dilandau… regarding you running off and all?" Dallet stepped into Kitsune's room. "Basically… PLEASE don't do that again! You're gonna get me KILLED if you're not careful." He was standing too close to Kitsune for her comfort at the moment, yet he seemed to be oblivious to the largeness of her eyes and her red face.

"Gomen nasaii…" Okami frowned. "I told him to not be mad at you. Looks like I'm gonna have to smack him around a little bit." A girlish giggle followed and Okami grinned. "After all. I'm the Dark Star, I might just destroy the world." She laughed like she was making a joke.

Dallet went wide-eyed at Okami. "… Well… t-there's no NEED to smack Lord Dilandau around, so… um… yes. Just, you know… try not to get me in trouble. I don't like it." He spoke unsurely, obviously nervous for a reason unknown to Kitsune. For a moment she stopped blushing and looked suspiciously at Okami.

Okami absentmindedly waved her hand. "Don't worry about it. I won't smack him around." Her face turned serious. "And I am sorry for getting you into trouble, Dallet. I will be a good girl and do what Dilly-sama tells me to… well… within reason. But I'm going to leave now, I do believe Kitsune-chan has something she would like to… discuss?" Giggling, Okami ducked out of the room, avoiding Kitsune's flying hand.

"DAMN YOU, OKAMI-CHAN!" Kitsune screamed after her.

"Wait." Dallet caught Kitsune by her wrist. "Because I need to talk to you, too."

Kitsune wanted to die. "But I'm sorry, so there's nothing to SAY!" She cried. She blushed and bowed.

Dallet, however, began to laugh. "There you go again with your blush-and-bow. I kinda figured you'd be sorry, so don't worry, you're forgiven." He gave Kitsune his signature light smile. It was a kind, carefree smile, one that made Kitsune believe that he forgave her.

"Arigato!" She smiled back.

"Just don't ever do that again." His eyes crinkled in a teasing way.

"I won't!" Kitsune responded too quickly.

"That means we'll keep tabs on each other, then. So we know when each of us in the shower."

"Well that sounds kinda stupid…"

Dallet laughed again. "Or I will get someone to put actual stalls in."

"That's… a little better." Kitsune still blushed at the thought of showering next to him.

"Mind if I make myself at home?" Dallet asked casually, still smiling, plopping himself down on Kitsune's bed, while Kitsune remained sitting on the floor. "Is sitting on the ground comfy for you?"

Kitsune blinked up at him. Just like that he was off on more casual topics, as though being caught naked had little to no effect on him whatsoever. A faint smile crossed her lips. "I guess I don't have to tell you to go ahead and sit, do I?"

Dallet laughed. It was a rich, warm laugh, warm like his whole being seemed to be. It settled in Kitsune's ears and made her want to laugh right with him. "No, I guess you don't."

"As for sitting on the floor… I did it all the time, back on Earth – ano… the Mystic Moon. It's not so much about comfort as it is just… simple habit."

"Does the Mystic Moon have chairs?"

"Hai."

"And you don't use them?"

He sounded like a little child, with the things we was asking. But she admired his keen interest in her world. "We do, but where I come from sitting on the floor is a common habit, too."

"Strange…"

It was Kitsune's turn to laugh. Dallet was quiet for a few moments before going on to his next question.

"Kitsune, does the Mystic Moon ever go to war?" He asked the question cautiously.

"… Hai… we do." Kitsune said after a pause. "… Why?"

"Because when we were out fighting, you were so upset… I thought you were going to pass out and I'd have to carry you, or something."

Kitsune dropped her gaze to her lap. "Well, the Mystic Moon goes to war sometimes, but I am just a student at school there. I'm not involved in the military, and my country is paranoid about protection… so this is my first time around real battle."

"Ah." Dallet said thoughtfully. "… I understood you wanting to watch, to be honest. Trying to condition yourself to it, right? They did the same to all of us… I just didn't want you fainting on me, that's all. It's hard trying to protect people fainting and falling off their horses."

The mentioning of horses made Kitsune fidget. "Dallet…? I need to tell you something. It's one of the reasons why I wasn't doing so well out there…" She looked up shyly to see the Dallet had moved off the bed and was sitting on the ground with her. She could tell he wasn't used to it. He sat with an odd hunch to his back, like he was only sitting down there to hide from someone. But she understood well enough that he was trying to make her feel more at home. She appreciated it more than he knew. "Dilandau's horse… The one that died…"

Dallet nodded. "A fine horse, honestly. Well trained, but he still had a personality to him. He was more like a friend than a mode of transportation…"

Kitsune felt sadness grow upon hearing the description of the horse. "When we were out there… I saw… I saw the horse die before he actually died… Do you understand? I knew how the horse was going to die before he died."

Dallet was staring at her with searching eyes, though he understood what she was saying. "You had a vision."

Kitsune slowly nodded. "It made… a lot of what I saw out there… too hard to bear. The fact that I knew how that horse would die, and it really did happen. EXACTLY like how I saw it."

Dallet seemed to be searching for the right words to say. Kitsune's words at breakfast ran through his mind… 'I don't want to sound like an oracle…' He knew he should say it, anyway. The way things were going, his assumption was probably true. "… You're like an oracle, Kitsune."

A frown tugged at Kitsune's mouth as she sat there with her eyes glued to her lap. "Kitsune the Light Star." She murmured with a trace of bitterness on her tongue. She let the awkward silence fill up the room, not caring about it.

"Hey, Kitsune." Dallet suddenly remarked, and lightly tapped her thigh with his fist. Kitsune jumped and shot him a confused gaze, another blush still tinting her cheeks. "Maybe to people like Lord Folken you'll be Kitsune the Light Star… But to me, you'll always be Kitsune, the girl who always blushes and bows." He sent her another light smile. "Okay?"

Kitsune was already blushing, so the only thing left was to bow her head in shyness, and she did so. "Arigato, Dallet."

"You're welcome."

**To be continued… **


	5. Chapter 5

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 5

"Well… I should get going…" Dallet said quietly, coming to a stand.

"Wait…" Kitsune pouted, and Dallet laughed. "What would you be doing today, anyway?"

"Sleep, I guess…"

"Could you answer a question I have before you go?"

"… Well, sure." Dallet nodded, and sat back down on the ground.

"Okay, well, I'm a Light Star, Okami's a Dark Star… It's sort of been explained to us… but I'm still confused…"

A corner of Dallet's mouth lifted into a smirk. It was different than his warm smile. It was more teasing than comforting, but Kitsune thought it suited him, anyway. "Okay, well, first off… you are THE Light Star. Okami is THE Dark Star. As far as any of us know, there aren't any other Light and/or Dark Stars running around, so you two are a unique pair."

"Okay. But being the Light Star or the Dark Star means what, exactly…? I mean, what ARE we, then?"

"Essentially, the Spirit Stars, or you and Okami, were once called the Guardians... they are EXTREMELY powerful beings… some people consider them deities, even… that would descend from the Heavens whenever Gaea fell into a time of need. By need, I mean something having to do with war, usually. The Spirit Stars have fought in every war Gaea has had… Sometimes, they have even fought against each other, on opposing sides. But every action that the Spirit Stars have done in the name of Gaea is believed to be done for the overall good of Gaea… for the most part."

"So Okami and I are kind of like peacekeepers, in an offhand way?"

"… For the most part."

"… Why only 'for the most part'?"

Dallet was silent for a short moment, trying to choose the right words to say. "There was an event, around 500 years ago… that puts a bit of a stain in the Spirit Stars' reputation as beings interested in peace. Well, it puts a stain on the Dark Star's reputation…" The look on Kitsune's face told him he would need to continue. "… About 500 years ago, the Great War took place. It was what cut Gaea up into the countries we are today… But, anyway… The Dark Star sided against the Light Star. Her power corrupted her, and the Spirit she summoned possessed her… Yes, you have a Spirit that you can summon, but your powers haven't awakened yet… not fully, anyway, considering you're now able to have visions and all…"

"You are branching away from the subject, Dallet." Kitsune said plainly.

"… I know I am…" Dallet said shamefully. "… When the Dark Star was possessed, she killed the Light Star, and soon began to kill everything else on Gaea, but she stopped. No one knows why, but she stopped, and she said that the one to take her place... This was when the names Dark Star and Light Star came around, because the possessed Guardian called her successor the Dark Star…"

"Okay, Dallet, I get it. What did she say…?"

"She said… that the Dark Star would come and… continue the killing in her place." Dallet paused. "So if you were wondering why I was standoffish about Okami's comment about destroying the world… If you were wondering why everyone here has a general fear of Okami… That's why. She might pick up where her predecessor left off." He gathered the courage to look Kitsune in the eye, but the wide-eyed gaze was too much, so he stood, turning to leave.

"You don't honestly believe that Okami would become corrupt, do you?"

"… Kitsune, I don't know what I believe."

"I don't think she would. She's a beautiful person, Dallet. She's got a kind heart. It's just that she's always alienated…! On the Mystic Moon, now here, too! She's hurt, if anything, not going corrupt!"

"… Pain, if dealt with the wrong way, or worse, bottled up, leads to corruption."

"Dallet –"

"Kitsune, I'm a soldier… I've fought against and even worked under corrupt people. I've seen people go corrupt. I know the signs." He looked down at Kitsune with sad eyes. "I want to believe… For your sake and for Gaea's… I want to believe that Okami is on our side. I don't doubt what you say about her. But… there's still that chance. That's all I'm saying." He sighed and ran a hand through his long, brown hair. "I'm sorry…"

"… No. I needed to know these things."

"… Hai. You did." Dallet bowed way too deeply, grinning stupidly. "I'll see you later, Kitsune, the girl who always blushes and bows."

Kitsune stuck her tongue out at him. "Bye, Dalley the Delivery Man."

Dallet laughed and left her.

'Kitsune, the girl who always blushes and bows…' A distinctily familiar male voice could be heard, and Kitsune turned to the sound.

She saw, of all people, Toshiyo on the small balcony she had, looking up at the Mystic Moon. 'Such a cute way to describe you… But you have never blushed and bowed for me…'

"Toshiyo…?"

Toshiyo turned. He was smiling, for once, and it was warm, light smile, just like Dallet's.

Kitsune blinked. Toshiyo was gone, but she could still feel the words resonate in her body: 'Kitsune, the girl who always blushes and bows…'

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Training, ugh. Dilandau frowned. Another boring training session, it wouldn't have been so bad if his attention span wasn't so short today. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate on his practicing soldiers, he would keep picturing Okami, laughing and petting a horse, or looming over him, scrubbing away the blood. Maybe he lied when he told her she looked boring, because sometimes in the oddest of his little moments, Dilandau thought she looked damn cute.

'Wow, Dilandau… maybe you really are human?'

_Shut up!_ Dilandau barked at the stupid little voice in his head. Letting out an annoyed growl, Dilandau sheathed his sword and walked calmly away from Gatti, whom he had been sparring. Gatti stared at the retreating back of his commander, confusion written across his face.

"Dilandau-sama!"

"What is it, Shesta?" Dilandau muttered dangerously.

"Lord Folken wishes to see you." Shesta bowed.

A muscle in Dilandau's jaw twitched. "I see." Without a thank you, the red commander left the training room, heading for Folken's throne room. He wondered just what Folken could possibly want. Perhaps more blood and pain for Dilandau's foolish mistake? Oh well. Dilandau knew he could take it.

Folken was standing with his back to Dilandau when he entered the throne room. Folken didn't even flinch as Dilandau took a kneel before him. "You wanted to see me, Lord Folken?"

The black-armored man turned. "Yes, but arise, my brother. There is no need to kneel now." Folken opened his arms, as if to embrace Dilandau.

Frowning, Dilandau stood.

"Come stand beside me, brother. Come look at the world that we have created together."

Frowning still, he did as he was told, standing beside Folken and gazing out the window at the city surrounding their fortress.

"It will be beautiful. A world without war, without suffering. You want that, don't you?" Folken cast a malicious glance at Dilandau, witnessing the ill effects his words had. "You grow weary of fighting, Dilandau… I feel that way too. I want this world to live in peace. You want the same don't you? You want to be able to finish your duty and return to your homeland… return to your family?"

If Dilandau hadn't longed for Folken's words to be true, perhaps he could have been able to tell he was lying. He DID want to go home. He wanted to see his sisters again, his mother… His forced servitude to Folken as repayment for saving his life, was all that kept him from returning home.

"There is nothing I desire more than to give that to you, brother." An invisible, evil smirk formed on Folken's face, yet his voice remained sincere. "But there is a malevolent force here… a force that could keep that dream from coming true."

Sirens were going off in Dilandau's head. This wasn't going to turn out good; he knew it.

Folken heaved a dramatic sigh. "It's the Dark Star. I fear that she will walk the path of her antecedent. Her heart is dark… distorted by her hatred."

The albino commander felt as if his chest had gone numb. He knew what his new orders were, and it made him sick.

"I want you to kill the Dark Star. Kill her, and the future of Gaea will be secure." Folken turned to Dilandau. "But I must warn you. The moment the Dark Star draws a sword for the first time, she will become a formidable opponent."

"And why's that?" Dilandau's voice was bored, but his mouth and throat were dry.

"The Spirit Stars' power emerges in battle. And so will the Dark Stars'."

"In battle? Why can't I just smother her in her sleep?" He tried his best to sound malicious, but his tone seemed to crack.

Folken didn't notice. "Killing the Dark Star is a delicate business. Because even though Gaea fears her, she is still a sort of beacon for hope. We must do this carefully."

"What do you propose?" Dilandau mumbled flatly.

"During your training… accidents happen." Folken said slowly, letting the weight of his words sink in.

Dilandau felt as though the ground beneath his feet was steadily falling away. "… I understand, sir…"

X X X X X X X X

"Just a minute…!" Kitsune cried, trying to get herself untangled from the sheets of her bed.

The knocking came again, accompanied this time, with a voice. "Kitsune! Come on out and do your blush-and-bow!"

Kitsune rolled away from her sheets. "I am going to kill you, delivery boy." She muttered as she pulled open her door.

Dallet smiled down at her casually. "Well you can go ahead and try to do so very soon. Your training starts today."

Kitsune blinked rapidly as Dallet moved to Okami's door and knocked on it as well. "… Training? Training for what?"

Okami's door opened as Dallet answered her. "… Training for battle…? It was going to start at some point, Kitsune…"

"Battle… right." Okami said through a yawn. "What's going on?"

"Dilandau-sama has requested that you meet in the training room with us today. You two have a very big day ahead of yourselves."

Kitsune was suddenly hesitant, clearly unwilling to accept that she would be learning to fight, today. "Dallet…"

"I've already made you my sparring partner, Kitsune. So no worries, we'll take it at a pace you're comfy with. All the other guys are too used to just going in for the kill. Not many of us practice control… Which is bad, but what can you do?" Dallet spoke as he moved down the hall.

"You're afraid they might cut my head off?"

"Sometimes I wonder if the opposite will happen because you'll be too frightened to hold back."

"Dallet… I've never even touched a sword before…"

"It's to my understanding, Kitsune, Okami, that your powers are going to come out completely once you draw your sword. Once that happens, you're going to have a lot more skill with a sword than you think you do." Dallet took a sharp turn and went down a flight of stairs. "So today is going to be a VERY interesting day. Everyone's anticipating it."

"That's pretty cool." Okami piped up. "So who am I sparring?"

"…Dilandau-sama requested that he be the first to fight you."

For some reason, Okami felt her stomach drop. Something about that didn't seem right. Why would Dilandau want to fight her, but not Kitsune? She tried to blame it on the odd bond that seemed to have formed between the two of them, but that didn't make her bad feeling go away.

Dallet smiled sheepishly. "…Actually, I should probably let you know that you will be having a large audience, Okami. Everyone here… is especially interested in watching your powers awaken. More than likely, no one else will be fighting while you do." He turned his brown eyes to Kitsune. "… Okay?" He asked her, hoping that would alleviate some of Kitsune's anxiety.

"… Hai." Kitsune said quietly.

"… Here we are." And Dallet opened the doors to the training room.

Okami felt like she was walking in with a spotlight on her, considering the way all eyes seemed to glue to her. Scowling, Okami made her way through the swollen crowd to the center of the room, there she saw Dilandau, standing with his sword unsheathed, staring directly at her. Again, Okami knew there was something amiss when Dilandau couldn't look at her. The second they made eye contact, he immediately looked away. Again, she tried her best to just dismiss it as nothing.

"Okami?" Dallet appeared next to her, offering a sword still safe in it's sheath.

"Arigato…" She took the sword and an odd tingling sensation sprung in her fingertips. She clutched the scabbard, and turned to Dilandau. He gave her a quick nod, urging her to draw her sword. But something held Okami back, something told her that the second she drew this sword, everything would change. But for better or worse? That's what frightened her.

Kitsune could sense all the tension about her as Okami hesitated to draw. She didn't entirely blame Okami for her uncertainty. She knew that if she were in her place, she would've taken forever to draw… if she ever ended up drawing at all. But she found Dilandau's air to be odd, as well. Her thoughts swirled back to Dilandau's arrogant, confident persona on the battlefield… now, he was nothing like it. He seemed reserved. Maybe he was scared as well? Kitsune couldn't tell. She almost wanted to have a vision right now, but nothing was coming to her.

Okami didn't want to draw, everything inside of her was screaming to do anything but draw. Everyone in the room waited with baited breath as the seconds stretched on painfully. Closing her eyes, Okami dropped herself to one knee. Everyone's breath caught in their throat, but instead of drawing, she pulled out a black rubber band, and tied her hair back in a high ponytail. Everyone's breath was still ragged as Okami kept her kneel, eyes closed as if she was taking a moment to gather her thoughts.

The tension was driving Dilandau crazier then he already was. The more time that went by, the more he began to have second thoughts about taking this assignment. Okami wasn't evil, Dilandau knew that now. But he had to follow his orders…

'Damn it, Okami!' Okami screamed inside her head. 'Just draw the sword!' She took a deep breath, and clutched the sword's hilt in her trembling hand. The tingling spread through her palm, then up to her elbow. With another deep breath, she ripped the sword out of it's sheath, the metal singing it's high-pitched song. Her eyes widened with the painful sensation of a hand roughly grabbing her insides. Her vision clouded with memories of blood-soak battlefields, dark flames, and the stench of death. The feelings of hatred, pain and heartache that surged through her were paralyzing. With an agonizing gasp, she fell forward from her kneel, catching herself before he hit the floor. She didn't drop the sword, she kept it clamped tight in her fingers.

"Okami-chan!" Kitsune cried out in fear, rushing forward. "… Dallet! Let me go!"

"Shhh…Let the powers wake up…" Dallet said forcefully.

"She is in pain!"

"It is a necessary step. Let it happen." His grip around Kitsune's shoulders tightened to keep her in place.

Along with Kitsune, Dilandau felt the urge to comfort Okami in some way. However the gaping stares of everyone in the room, all fixed on her, made him dismiss the thought.

The pain in Okami's chest faded to a dull throb, and her vision started to clear. The tingling subsided, and to Okami, it felt as though her body was completely new. As if she had finally received a passport to an undiscovered part of herself. She corrected her kneel, and felt her breath return to normal quickly. She was still frightened, everything seemed to happen so quickly. Within seconds, she felt as though she had learned an entire lifetime of sword fighting, among other things, and she was ready.

In a single fluid motion, she stood, eyes closed, breathing in like she had never took a deep breath before. It flooded her senses, heightening their sensitivity. Her eyes slid open, boring straight into Dilandau's red orbs.

When their eyes met, Dilandau felt his stomach clench. 'It's not too late to stop this.' The voice in his head cut through his feelings.

_Shut up!_ Dilandau yelled back. He clutched his sword, staring into Okami's eyes for what could be the last time.

Okami gazed at Dilandau's eyes. Eyes that she always knew were hiding something, and yet, she could see into them better than ever now. He was sad. But why? And that's when she heard it, his voice in her head. 'Forgive me… Okami…' Her eyes widened. "Nani?" She whispered.

Kitsune stared unblinking at the two of them, feeling like the only one that could sense the complete, utter injustice of the situation. "… Stop the fight."

"Kitsune…" Dallet hissed in frustration. "I know you're not used to this, but-"

"It's not about what I'm used to…! Am I the only one who can see…?" She didn't need an answer. She knew she was alone here, watching something terrible unfold.

Dilandau charged forward with a fury, a blind raving charge in attempt to quell the raging in his heart.

Instinctively, Okami knew exactly how to block, how to counter, how to dodge, and she did so perfectly. But something was still very wrong, because with every blocked blow, and every attempted strike, Okami could feel Dilandau's strength, power, and resolve building. Soon, Okami understood just what that resolve was for. She was fighting for her life. She couldn't believe it, she trusted Dilandau, and this is how he repaid her! An uncontrollable fury built up inside, growing stronger until it exploded. It registered moments later, that that explosion had come from her hands. Dark energy steamed from her palms. Dilandau had blocked it using his own power, and stood in a blank shock.

Kitsune blinked rapidly as she watched the dark power flow from Okami's palms.

"See, Kitsune…?" Dallet said reassuringly. "It's fine. Okami's got it covered. Dilandau is testing her."

"Dallet, you are blind..." Kitsune bit her lip. "OKAAAMI! Stop fighting!"

"Kitsune!" Dallet scolded her.

Kitsune's cry fell to deaf ears. Okami was now so consumed by her angry mind-set of betrayal; all she think of, all she could feel was her hatred for Dilandau, for Folken. Another wave shot from her angry hands, and another battle ensued. Swords clashed, and soon, Dilandau was the one fighting for his life, or so it seemed. Dilandau failed to block a surge of black energy, it connected harshly with his chest, knocking him off of his feet, and into a wall. Stunned, Dilandau slid to the floor, trying to blink the stars out of his eyes before Okami went in for the kill. But she didn't. She stood, slumped over and panting, blinking tears from her eyes a distance away.

Okami's hand was shaking, she stared wide-eyed at her sword. Disgusted with herself, she threw down the sword with a clang. Tears stung her eyes and a few streams trickled down her face. "…Why?" She asked Dilandau, ignoring the distraught look on his face. "I thought we were friends!" She shrieked. "You BASTARD!"

The crowd scattered when Okami stormed out of the room. "OKAAAAMI!" Kitsune cried, struggling again. "God dammit, Dallet, let me GO!" She pried herself from his grasp and rushed after Okami.

"So much for sparring with Kitsune today, Dallet!" Ryuon commented.

"He wouldn't have, anyway…" Dilandau faintly muttered.

Dallet stared with confused eyes at his commander.

"You wouldn't have, anyway… Trust me." Dilandau's voice echoed bits of sadness. "… What the Hell are you lookin' at me like that for? Get out of here, Dallet!" He suddenly yelled. He watched Dallet obey promptly. "What are you ALL looking at me like that for? Leave!"

X X X X X X X X XX

Okami ran down the hallway, ripping the rubber band out of her hair and letting her hair mix with her tears. "God dammit!" she cursed, flinging herself into her room and slamming the door. She pressed her back against her door, pounding her skull into it's hard wood and gritting her teeth to try to stop her tears. Taking in deep breaths, she did her best to let her rational mind take over. Folken was behind this, she knew it. Folken wanted the world to end, and he knew that the Dark Star is the only one who had figured him out. So what does he do? Use his lackey to take her out. "I can't stay here…" Okami hurled herself into her closet, wrenching open the doors and throwing the bits of clothing they had awarded her onto her bed.

Kitsune knocked wildly on the door. "Okaaami?" Okami-chan? Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure, come in!" Okami said absently as she frantically pulled a black bag out, and piled clothes into it.

Kitsune rushed inside and shut the door. "Okami, are you okay?" She ignored the pounding that came on the door.

"How much do you wanna bet that's Dallet?" Okami ignored Kitsune's question. "Open the door for him."

Kitsune did so quickly, letting Dallet enter. "Okami, what happened out there?" Kitsune asked. "Okami-chan?"

"I have to leave. I can't stay here anymore." Okami's voice cracked from her hysterics. "This place is evil!"

"Evil?" The word reflected off the voices of both Kitsune and Dallet.

"How is this place evil? We've welcomed you like this is your home…!" Dallet reasoned. "What have we done that's wrong?"

Okami paused, glaring at her bedsheets. "Folken… he's a liar. He's not trying to save this world. You're all just too BLIND to see that!" She threw her tiny bag over her shoulder.

"Wait a minute, what?" Dallet's brow furrowed in deep confusion. "Okami, wait!" He stepped before her, holding out patient hands. "You're just distraught right now. Sit down and breathe a little bit, then we can talk rationally…"

"Back OFF!" Okami screamed, overwhelmed by her emotions, her dark aura smashed into Dallet, lifting him off of his feet and sending him crashing to the floor.

Kitsune's breath felt like it was choked out of her as she watched this perfectly healthy, perfectly strong man sprawled on the ground. "DALLET!"

"… I'm… okay…" Dallet croaked, coming to a slow sitting position.

So Kitsune turned wide, bewildered eyes at Okami. "What are you DOING? Okami-chan, stop it!" She screamed angrily. "Just calm down, Okami-chan! You're not FIXING anything by shooting energy waves at Dallet!"

"Kitsune, you are a FOOL!" Okami shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at Dallet. "Why can't you understand! The Black Dragon Clan are the evil ones! Your PRECIOUS Dallet is one of THEM! Wake up! We HAVE to get out of here! It's only a matter of time before they try to kill you too!"

Kitsune stared at Okami with unbelieving eyes. How could Dallet, with his warm smile, be an evil person? He's tried so hard to make her feel at home. To him, she wasn't a magical entity, but a girl, just like how she wanted to be. How could someone with so kind a heart be evil? Kitsune shook her head wildly. "That's not true! That's not true, Okami-chan! They took us in! They accepted us, Okami-chan! They've let this place become our new home!" She dropped down by Dallet, who was only just starting to get some sort of steady rhythm to his breath. "Look at him…! What has Dallet done that's so wrong?"

"He's as big a fool as you ar-"

"Dallet is no fool! Dallet has probably the kindest heart out of all the people here!" Kitsune shouted. "He is not evil… And this place is NOT EVIL, Okami-chan. What has gotten into you?"

"The TRUTH! Kitsune-chan I'm leaving… you can make the right decision and follow me, or I can guarantee you…" A flicker of sadness swept across Okami's face before she developed a look so determined, and utterly malevolent. "… The next time we meet… it will be on a battlefield…"

Kitsune couldn't believe she was hearing Okami say such things. For a small moment she refused to acknowledge the words had left her mouth. "… Pain, if dealt with the wrong way, or worse, bottled up, leads to corruption." Kitsune blinked back the tears that were welling up in her eyes, and she gave Okami a sad, but decisive, look. "… I don't want to meet you on a battlefield… But… I will."

"Then you'd better train." Okami said, tone dangerous. "Because we're enemies now. When we fight for the first and last time, you had better not disappoint me." With that, Okami left.

Kitsune looked at the empty doorway feeling positively, purely heartbroken. That wasn't the Okami she knew… but had she known Okami, anyway?

"K-Kitsune…" Dallet said through a heavy breath, watching Kitsune shrink to the floor and keep shrinking as she bowed her head to the floor. The blast to his chest was still resonating within him, making him feel feverish. "… Kitsune?" He tried again.

The only thing that escaped her mouth was a despairing sob.

A low moan left his throat as he moved to lift her head up. "Kitsune, I'm sorry…" He moved closer to her and forced her to look at him. She couldn't keep the eye contact for long and collapsed into him. "Kitsune, I'm sorry… But I told you… I told you this might happen…"

Kitsune could literally feel the heat escaping his chest. "… Don't ever make me draw my sword…"

"Kitsune…"

"Don't ever make me!" She cried.

Dallet shushed her gently, still muttering his apologies to her. But he knew he could not promise to keep her away from battle. She would need to learn at some point. Or else she would die off at the hands of Okami.

It was some time before Kitsune's sobbing had slowed, and the pain in his chest finally left him completely. "Kitsune, you have such a good heart… I'm going to tell you right now… That isn't going to get you far in this place… Kitsune… you will have to draw your sword." He heard Kitsune whimper. "Shh, Kitsune…! Because if you don't… Okami will kill you in a heartbeat…"

It was the wrong thing to say. Kitsune threw herself from him and stumbled toward her room. "This is such a lie… All of it…"

Dallet moved toward her, crawling, really. Crawling like she was to her room. "Kitsune, this is REAL…"

"This is so fake!" She cried and shut her door.

"Kitsune! This is REAL!"

"Dallet, what are you doing?"

Dallet looked up from his spot on the floor to see Guimel. He stared up at him for a short moment before knocking on Kitsune's door. "I've been there, Kitsune! I've been there! You adjust, I promise! I will help you through!"

Guimel stood, staring down at him with confused eyes.

"… What the fuck are you looking at, Sheep Boy?" He snarled. Dallet hit Kitsune's door in frustration, stood, and strode away from Kitsune's room.

Guimel blinked. "Well… Okay, then…"

**To be continued…**


	6. Chapter 6

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 6

Okami had felt alone for nearly all of her life, but never was it this bad. Her only friend and true ally, Kitsune… they were enemies now. And threatening her? Okami didn't know what had gotten into her. But Okami knew what Folken was after, and if Kitsune was fool enough to eat up everything he said, then she would have no choice but to get rid of Kitsune. The blonde woman wiped away more tears. "This sucks." What was worse, was that Okami had nowhere to go. She now was aware of her power, but it was still hard to believe that she could fight Folken and his nation alone. She needed allies… then it came to her. The Abaharaki! They would probably still be stuck in that canyon, repairing their caravan! She could find her way back there, all she needed was a horse. Good. Now she had a plan.

She hastily made her way to the stables, trying her best to avoid any passerby. She made it there with little effort, and moved to the nearest horse.

"Okami."

Letting out a startled gasp, she spun to see Dilandau standing behind her.

He looked tired and stressed as he stared back at her. "… What do you think you're doing, Okami?" He tried to sound bored, but the words came out tight with restrained emotions.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She turned her back to him, strapping her bag behind the saddle. "I can't stay here, especially if you're here." Her voice trembled slightly with her last words.

"So you're leaving… just like that?"

"What of it? It's not like you'll miss me…"

Dilandau felt a pinch in his chest. "Don't be stupid." He scoffed. "You don't have anywhere to go."

"How stupid do you think I am? Even if I didn't have anywhere to go, anywhere is better than a place that wants me dead."

Dilandau absorbed the honest words, not knowing how to respond. Because it was true. This place wanted her dead. Well, Folken wanted her dead, anyway. "… Oh, do we want you dead?" He asked nonchalantly. He lied nonchalantly.

"Again… how stupid do you think I am?" Okami glared at Dilandau. "Dilandau, ever since I was little, I've had this gift. I KNOW when people lie. I know when they feel sad. I know when they're angry, jealous, frustrated… I know a lot of things. And I know what you were trying to do today…" She choked slightly. "Forgive me but this whole thing is new to me. But typically, when someone tries to kill you, they're not worthy of your trust anymore. Do you really expect me to hang around here?"

No, he didn't. He really didn't. "… I… don't know…" God, he wanted to slap himself for sounding so foolish. "I just want you to know that there is… more to it than simply wanting to kill you, Okami." He tried his hardest to sound casual about the whole topic. He wondered if did a good job of acting or not.

"Whatever it is… I don't care. I was wrong about you! You're not human… you're a MONSTER!" Okami grabbed the horse's reigns, blinking back her sadness again.

The word hit Dilandau like one of her energy waves, settling inside of him. His heart felt like it couldn't beat the same way and it bothered him more than he would have liked. He knew what was wrong: he was hurt. Emotionally hurt. It had been so long since someone had really called him such a name, because it had been done before, and everyone knew he knew what he was. But it was different now. So different, Dilandau couldn't control his vocal cords as easily. "I WAS a monster… WAS a monster, Okami!" He cried. "NOW I'm just… a confused, broken… MESS of a man!" He stopped and blinked rapidly.

Okami cast an unreadable glance over her shoulder. Her eyes gave away that she was torn. But she quickly turned away again. "Goodbye, Dilandau." Okami mounted her horse, and rode off, leaving Dilandau behind.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X XX X X X X X X X X X X

"Geez, Dallet, a little more hung up than you need to be, don't you think?"

"Shut up, Gatti…"

"I'm just saying… If Kitsune is hungry she will come down and get stuff herself."

"Shut up, Gatti…" Dallet repeated.

Gatti pointed at the bowl of soup Dallet cradled in his hands. "And a poor choice of food for her, anyway, Dallet."

"SHUT. UP. GATTI." Dallet left the noisy breakfast table, walking up to Kitsune's room. Dallet momentarily wondered if Gatti was right, at least about the choice of food. But that was literally all that was left of the food. He shook the doubt from him and knocked on Kitsune's door. "Kitsune?"

He heard a mild yawn and muttering. He heard Kitsune's body land against the door before opening it. "… Ohayooo…"

"… Did you not get a wake up call?" Dallet asked, puzzled.

"… Obviously not…" Kitsune muttered. "What is that…?" She pointed to the bowl in his hands.

"It's soup… It's your breakfast."

Kitsune looked at the soup for a moment before taking the bowl and rushing back to her bed, where she wrapped the blanket about herself before spooning a bit into her mouth. She grimaced.

"Bitter?"

Kitsune nodded. Dallet apologized. Kitsune shrugged and continued to eat. Dallet stood there for a few seconds before asking softly, "… Are you feeling better, today?"

Kitsune put the bowl down on her lap. "… I guess so… I'm not so… hysterical." She took another spoonful into her mouth. "… This soup really sucks, Dallet."

"I told you I was sorry. This is what happens when you don't eat breakfast with everyone else. You get the shit food."

"That's a lovely image."

"Isn't it?" Dallet smiled. "Listen… Kitsune… Considering yesterday's episode no one's really expecting you to whip out your sword… But you will need to eventually. You know that…"

Kitsune nodded solemnly. "… I know what I need to do. It doesn't mean I want to… But I will do it… at some point."

Dallet looked at her searchingly. She was so quiet it bothered him. "… The sooner the better, to let you know… If you put it off the less powerful you will be… compared to Okami..."

Kitsune laid the soup bowl down in her lap again. "… I guess the only thing that matters now is that I become Kitsune the Light Star, huh?"

Dallet frowned. "Kitsune –"

"That's okay, I guess. She'd survive in Gaea longer than the normal Kitsune…"

"… Maybe." He knew he had to agree with her. It was the cold truth. "… But don't lose touch with the 'normal Kitsune'…" He finally took a seat next to her. "If you do, I won't get to make fun of you for blushing and bowing…"

Kitsune smiled halfheartedly. "That would be a crime, ne?"

"An EVIL crime. I'd have to kill you for it." He watched her shudder at hearing the word, 'evil.' "I'm sorry…"

Kitsune absentmindedly waved her hand at him. "Don't be sorry or I'll make you finish off my soup!"

"A punishment worse than death?"

"Would you like to try the soup?"

Dallet shook his head wildly, the long, brown hair flying about his shoulders. A silence followed, and he knew Kitsune just wasn't the same anymore. It bothered him more than it should have. At least, that's what Gatti would have told him. That it shouldn't bother him so much. "… Kitsune, you're not happy here, and it's begun taking a toll on you…"

Kitsune blinked at him. "… Aren't you a bag of sunshine dust?"

Dallet shrugged it off. "… I'm sorry for it. That's all I'm saying."

Kitsune saw the sincerity in his eyes and gave waved off the apology. "… I'm homesick, I guess…"

"I don't blame you… I think we all got homesick, all of us here in the Cavalry… I think we all still do. But you really do get used to it, if you're strong enough. And you start smiling again." Dallet flashed his signature, light smile. "… I've decided to help make sure you're strong enough to do so."

"… Arigato, Dallet… Again."

"You're welcome, again. Kitsune. Consider it payment for such nasty soup."

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

It took Okami longer than expected to reach the canyon, but it did give her plenty of time to map out a plan. She wouldn't tell the Abaharaki that she was the Dark Star, which would be a huge mistake. The last thing she wanted was another assassination attempt. The entire time she rode, she tried her best to keep Kitsune and Dilandau far from her mind. She knew she would just be better off forgetting about them, even though she knew they would eventually meet again.

Bringing her horse to a stop at the canyon ridge, Okami observed the damaged caravan below, workers milling around it in an attempt to fix it. She dismounted her horse and pulled off her bag. "Ok, big guy." She spoke to the horse. "You have to go back. If they knew I was with the Black Dragon Clan, they wouldn't trust me." The horse stood fast, clearly not understanding. "Get out of here!" With a quick smack on the rump, Okami made the horse run off, back in the direction she came.

Shouldering her bag, Okami wondered if she was making the right decision. She knew nothing about the Abaharaki, and as she descended the canyon into the basin, she wondered still if this was true.

She cautiously approached the workers, although none of them seemed interested in her. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad?

"Who are you?" A male voice asked, and Okami spun around to see a tall, impressive looking man in black armor.

"I'm sorry." Okami said, maintaining a passive tone. "Am I not supposed to be here?"

The man's eyes narrowed. "No."

"I see." Okami crossed her arms. "Then where do I sign up?"

"Sign up?"

"Yeah. I'm interested in joining the Abaharaki? Why else would I be here?" She let her gaze wander up and down his body. "So who's your leader, anyway?"

"You're looking at him." The man said flatly.

Okami's eyes widened. "Oh."

"And the Abaharaki are serious fighters. We aren't bodyguards, we aren't babysitters." He returned Okami's wandering gaze. "There's not much promise to a woman who doesn't carry a sword."

Tossing a chunk of curly hair over her shoulder, Okami shrugged. "Why don't you give me a sword? See what I'm capable of before turning me away?"

The blonde man frowned. "The Abaharaki is always in search of new fighters. So I suppose we could give you a chance…"

It didn't take much convincing for the man called Allen to let Okami into the Abaharaki, considering she virtually wiped the floor with anyone who attempted to spar her. It was incredible to Okami, how talented she was with a sword now, and how merely drawing a sword gave her this knowledge. She never used her powers when she sparred with the Abaharaki men, bearing in mind that it would be a dead give-away to who she really was.

"What is your name?" Allen asked as Okami brought another opponent to the floor with little effort.

"…Okami." She said, first hesitating to give her name, but then realizing they wouldn't know who she was anyway by a mere first name.

"Okami…" Allen repeated. "Welcome to the Abaharaki."

"Thank you." Okami bowed.

"Millerna will give you armor and a sword. You two seem to be about the same size…"

A woman with a long auburn ponytail and very skimpy armor smiled. "That's me." She told Okami, when she looked confused over who this 'Millerna' was.

"Oh." Okami wanted to frown, but she kept a passive look on her face. If Millerna was going to be giving her some armor, it would probably be just as scanty as hers. That would suck.

"Come with me."

Okami followed Millerna into the caravan, introducing random members of the Abaharaki, which of course, Okami knew she would never remember. But she knew it would be alright, she would be spending a lot of time with these people.

"I'm glad that another woman fighter has actually joined us!" Millerna said excitedly, as she lead Okami into a bedroom. Okami took note that it was so plain compared to the extravagant rooms of the Black Dragon Clan. "I have the perfect set of armor for you."

Millerna moved over to her closet, and flashed a glance back to Okami. "You seem to like black…" She noted Okami's black pants and shirt and dug into her closet. "You have a nice figure, but don't let any of the guys paw your ass."

"Oh I don't think I need to worry about that. It only takes one broken hand for them to leave me alone, right?"

Millerna laughed. "You know? I think I like you, Okami. We're gonna be good friends." She pointed at a bunk bed. "The caravan is short on space, so you'll be rooming with me for a while."

"That's alright."

Millerna threw a set of black clothes at Okami, which consisted of a pair of black short shorts, black thigh highs, and a long sleeve black shirt. "Put those on." Millerna said. "I have silver armor pieces in here somewhere."

Okami did as she was told, making sure Millerna's back was turned when she changed her shirt, and immediately sliding the sleeve over her wrist. After everything was on, she sighed with relief. Her midriff was covered, which she was extremely grateful for. The only sliver of flesh visible was her thighs between the short shorts and thigh highs.

"Here." Millerna piled pieces of silver armor onto the bottom bunk of the bed. "Pick what you would like." She set a pair of black boots and a sword with a belt attached down as well. "When you're done, meet me in the control bridge."

Okami frowned at the closed door when Millerna left, and then she picked up a pair of silver gauntlets. "These are cool." She slipped them over her wrists and chose a silver chestplate. There was still a pile of other armor pieces, but Okami ignored them, satisfied with her current selections. She stomped into and laced up her boots. She clicked her belt on and the sword fell smoothly to her left hip.

When her ensemble was complete, she surveyed herself in the mirror. So this was her new reality? It worked for her, perhaps. But something inside her felt sad. She couldn't quite figure out what is was. Sure, she could read others like a book, but when it came to herself? She might as well try to read Greek first…

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

'He's offered you food, even.'

Kitsune froze, hearing that familiar voice from far away. "Toshiyo…" She blinked rapidly. The Toshiyo before her wore Dallet's warm smile and had his hair tied back.

Toshiyo's smile turned into Dallet's smirk and he let loose his hair, Kitsune watching it fall neatly to his shoulders. 'He calls you cute things and now he's feeding you, too. That's some competition, isn't it?'

Kitsune shook her head and reached out for him, trying to run her fingers through his new, long strands. "Toshiyo-"

He was gone again. Kitsune was standing alone once more, breathing in an erratic rhythm. This was the second time she'd had a vision of this nature, and she hated it almost as much as her vision of the torn horse. Kitsune rushed to her window and stared up at the sky for a short moment. Somewhere way out there was Toshiyo, and she would be frightened half to death if he really did have long hair now and smile like that. What, was he happier now that she was out of his way?

She could not stand there and keep wondering something like that. She needed to leave. So she did, stepping out of her room and proceeding down a flight of stairs… She was heading to the training room and she had no idea why. One would think she'd avoid it like the plague.

She smiled bitterly. Oh, she wanted to avoid it like the plague. But she knew she couldn't. Not if she wanted to remain alive. She stood there, staring at the closed door. Part of her actually wanted to open it.

She didn't need to. "Kitsune, hi." Dallet greeted, pulling her in by her tattooed wrist. "Come here."

Kitsune was pulled into the training room where several of the Dragon Cavalry had appeared to have taken a break from their training. Dallet had obviously been sparring with someone, as he held his sword and let sweat trickle down his forehead. He was a mess, really, but Kitsune still found him terribly attractive. The sweat reminded her too much of drops of shower water running down him.

"Kitsune," Dallet said to her softly, motioning with a nod of his head towards the center of the room. Kitsune blushed and quickly turned her gaze to Dilandau, who stood fully armored amongst the men about him.

" … is believed to still be with the Abaharaki, so we're returning to the canyon. They might be picking up the mess we made for them…" Dilandau tried to give off a satisfied grin, "… So the attack will be easy. But don't wimp out on me. You're gonna run in there and go for the KILL, you understand? … Except for the Wing Goddess. If you kill her, I'll have to kill you. And I'll enjoy it."

Kitsune frowned thoughtfully. It didn't matter how little time she'd known Dilandau. He was trying way too hard to be heartless. He was trying so hard it was difficult to take him seriously.

"Dallet!"

Dallet let Kitsune's wrist go and went to Dilandau. "Yes, sir?"

"You're not playing guard anymore. The Light Star seems smart enough to know when to stay back."

"Yes, sir!" Dallet replied obediently.

"Good. Now armor up and mount your horses." Dilandau left without another word.

"Dallet…" Kitsune followed him as he left the training room quickly.

"… Are you not ready?"

"… I don't know."

Dallet turned around to give her an apologetic look. "I know it feels soon. But… at least you're not fighting."

"Yet."

Dallet paused. "… Yet." He offered her a smirk. "… You'll be fine for today. Just remember to stay out of trouble. If you get into trouble I'll have to run in and save you."

Kitsune turned her gaze to the ground.

"… Get your armor, Kitsune."

"Oh, right!" Kitsune sprinted off.

"… She certainly isn't handling her position very well, is she?" Guimel commented when she was out of earshot.

"This is pathetic. The Dark Star's gone awry, and the Light Star's a coward." Ryuon moaned.

"Hey, back off…" Dallet said defensively. "Don't you remember when you first came here? How completely scared you all were? We thought we ran a higher risk of dying by Dilandau's hand than by any act of war!" He pointing a finger at Shesta. "Shesta about pissed his pants all the time!"

"Hey…" Shesta said defensively, "It's harder when you can see visions."

"My point further proven…" Dallet said solemnly. "Kitsune can see visions, too."

Shesta blinked. "Really?"

"Her's are more like premonitions, but yes, and she's new to it." Dallet nodded. "… So lighten up on her. It'll be easier than giving her a hard time about being afraid."

There was a long silence among the members of the Dragon Cavalry, before they all broken into grins.

"Oh, Dallet! I am such a damsel in distress! Sigh, faint!" Shesta teased lightly.

"Never fear, my dear! If you get into trouble I'll run in and save you!" Gatti responded.

Dallet stared at them darkly, pointing at Gatti. "I already told you 3 times today, so…" His finger moved to Shesta. "Shut up, Shesta."

**To be continued…**


	7. Chapter 7

Damn... stupid me uploaded the unfinished chapter the first time, so here is the completed version! Happy reading!

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 7

"How did you sleep, Okami?" Allen asked, watching the blonde-headed woman sharpen her sword.

"Pretty good. It was hard through Millerna's snoring though!" Giggling, she pointed at her new roommate.

Millerna turned red. "I do not snore!"

"Don't lie!" Okami laughed, liking her new comrades more and more with every passing moment. They were serious about destroying the Black Dragon Clan, and when they weren't thinking about battle strategies, they were having fun. Joking around, play sparring, or just talking. Okami really felt as though this place was home, no one looked at her with fear or contempt. True, that was because she hadn't told them what she was. They would find out eventually. Hopefully, they wouldn't think of her as a bad person when they did.

"Okami?" Allen interrupted her thoughts when he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes?"

"May I speak to you in private?" Allen gestured to the hallway.

"Sure." Okami, wondering what Allen could possibly want to talk about, followed him out into the hallway.

Allen closed the door behind them. "It's not usually our policy to ask questions about the pasts of our soldiers. But I have to ask… where do you come from?"

Okami felt her heart sink. She wasn't familiar enough with Gaea to just name a country or city. So she decided to improvise. "I want to forget where I came from. I left that life behind, and that's where I want it to stay."

A look of sympathy flashed across Allen's face. "You've been hurt… haven't you?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." Okami immediately dismissed the subject as she could hear Dilandau's voice in her head. 'Forgive me…'.

Allen nodded. "Alright then. I trust you, Okami." He turned away. "You may want to be prepared. The Black Dragon Cavalry will most likely return for the Wing Goddess."

"But… she's not here… is she?"

"No, but they don't know that, do they?"

"Oh… right." Okami's mind began to wander to where she could barely hear Allen's words.

"Try not to get yourself killed Okami." Allen left.

The Dragon Cavalry. Okami would have to fight them soon? She didn't want to, but what other choice did she have? They were on opposing sides, she understood that the second she joined the Abaharaki. When the Cavalry attacked, its members would die by her sword.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Kitsune remained removed from everyone, including Dallet, who had become her sole companion now that Okami had left. The ride to the canyon was all blurry and quick to her. Dilandau's words were fuzzy, but she heard that Dallet would be one of the first to charge into battle. She'd turned her eyes towards him, and Dallet had already maintained a fixed gaze on her. She blushed madly, but it only made Dallet break into a wide smile and he mouthed, "Bow," and winked. She stuck out her tongue and refused to bow just to spite him. He pouted.

"Dallet, what the Hell are you making googly eyes at?" Dilandau snapped. "Save it for another time!"

"Yes, sir!" Dallet quickly responded, and Kitsune watched that trained, expressionless, soldier's face come over him like a professional mask. His stance changed, and suddenly he wasn't the Dallet that called her Kitsune, the girl who always blushes and bows. He was the Dallet that could make blood spill if properly ordered or provoked.

It scared the shit out of Kitsune.

And then she blinked. Dallet was no longer on his horse, but on his feet inside the caravan, dueling with none other than Okami. He was valiant and brave, but unable to match up to Okami's energy waves, unable to catch himself and bring himself up in time to defend against the blow that came down on his head.

"Wait…!" Kitsune cried. Dallet was already gone. "WAIT!" She couldn't help herself. She knew she was weak and powerless and literally making a death wish by leaving her spot. She did it, anyway.

She charged after Dallet, watching him slash his sword, watching the blood spray over him. He was not Dilandau, but he maintained a cruelly apathetic frown and angry eyes that made him frightening to behold. In spite of this, Kitsune could still find him attractive. Dangerously attractive, no man of comfort but a wild man, instead.

She wanted to call out to him, but she didn't want to make him lose his guard. Kitsune was amazed that no one thought to move after her, even though her horse was a dead giveaway of whose side she was on. But she was grateful for it.

Dallet was the first to make it to the caravan and swing himself inside, his dark eyes scanning the area quickly for any person at all. Vaguely he thought he could hear Kitsune cry out for him, but he dismissed it. He knew Kitsune was far from any of this harm, not watching him kill so mercilessly. He was glad for it. It was a side of him he wasn't sure Kitsune was ready to accept, and until she was, he would try to keep that side of him far away from her.

Unbeknownst to him, Kitsune had also swung herself into the caravan, but by now, Dallet was somewhere else, still searching for what he could find. "… DALLET!" She cried out with a ragged breath. "DALLET, WHERE ARE YOU?" She began a desperate search for him, calling for him.

Kitsune couldn't breathe right. The vision was playing again. Playing in her head like a sick movie! Where was Dallet? Was he already dead? The tears clouded her vision as she ran forth. "DALLET!" She ran into a dark block before her.

"K-Kitsune…!" She heard Dallet cry out and could feel his bloody fingers brushing aside her tears. The dark block before her became Dallet's chest.

"Dallet… You need to get out of here…!"

His bloody fingers pressed against her cheeks as he forced her head up to look at him. His face was red with blood and angry shock. "What are you DOING here, Kitsune?"

"Don't stay here…! Don't fight her…! You're going to die!" Kitsune cried.

"Nani?" Dallet asked, bewildered. This was too much. He was torn between being a killing machine and being a caring man. "Kitsune get OUT OF HERE!"

"I'm not leaving without you! You can't stay here! She's going to kill you!"

"Kitsune, what are you TALKING about?"

Had he forgotten she could see visions? She wanted to slap him into listening to her, but before she could even reject the idea, the body of one of the Dragon Cavalry came flying through the door and landed in a bleeding mass before them.

"R-Ryuon!" Dallet cried out, angry at the sight of his friend dying before him. Kitsune's eyes were wide with shock.

The dying corpse of Ryuon looked up at the blood-smothered man that was Dallet and then pointed a weak, trembling finger his killer before collapsing with a final breath.

Kitsune and Dallet turned their stunned eyes to the door Ryuon had burst through. The top of a blonde head was visible, followed by dark, hazel eyes, a feminine jaw-line, black clothes, a slim, curvaceous figure, and a bloodied sword in hand. It was Okami, splattered slightly with blood as she ascended a staircase and walked through the door. Her face was set in an almost in a determined glare, and an asymmetrical smirk appeared on her face when she saw the pair. "Well well well?" She laughed maliciously. "What have we here? A fledgling Star and her Delivery Boy. How precious." Blood dripped from her sword as she placed a hand on her hip, surveying the two as Dallet stepped protectively in front of Kitsune. "Pathetic… the Light Star, hiding behind a powerless human? What a shame… I would have expected better from you, Kitsune."

"She hasn't awakened yet, Okami," Dallet said darkly. "She's not even supposed to be here…" He whispered over his shoulder at Kitsune, "Leave. Right now."

"Iie." Kitsune refused.

"Is your Awakening such a frightening thing, Kitsune?" Okami giggled again. "It only hurts for a second. But that's beside the point… Dallet… I do believe that the two of you are invading my caravan. I think I'll have to kill you now."

To Kitsune's utter shock Dallet took up his sword and prepared to fight. "Dallet!"

"KITSUNE, GET THE FUCK BACK AND STAY BACK!" Dallet commanded angrily, abandoning any bit of kindness in himself.

"How sweet. The noble hero protecting the damsel in distress." Okami scoffed. "Please gag me now…"

Raging, Dallet charged blindly forward, consumed by nothing but his desire to protect Kitsune. Protect her from harm, to protect her from her destiny to fight Okami.

Okami did nothing but roll her eyes. "Oh this is a waste of time." Dallet was brought to the floor before he could even put up a meager protest. Okami raised her sword, ready to make that fatal blow.

Kitsune ripped a metal torch off the wall, rushing towards Okami's back. Perhaps Kitsune didn't know how stupid a move she was making when she senselessly charged forward, but it rapidly became obvious when Kitsune's neck was caught in Okami's iron grip.

"You know something, Kitsune?" Okami sneered through Kitsune's choking. "You really make me sick. You act like you're such a good girl. Like you're a slave to your own heartfelt emotions." She tightened her grip and Kitsune choked again. "You think that I am the evil one? Take a look at yourself, Miss Perfect. Have you forgotten about Toshiyo? Your _boyfriend_ of four-and-a-half years? It certainly seems like you have, the way you go off about how Dallet is 'Mr. Pure Sex'. Have you ever even thought about what Toshiyo would say if he saw you now! You're such a whore it sickens me to look at you!" Kitsune was sent sprawling on her back when Okami threw her to the ground like a rag doll.

Dallet was immediately lost in a state of astonishment. Dallet… Pure Sex. What? He didn't get it. Oh, he got it, but then… boyfriend, Toshiyo. Four-and-a-half years. This AND himself…? It didn't click. He couldn't even think in coherent phrases. Kitsune, whore… that had to be untrue. But the incomplete phrases kept repeating in odd ways. Dallet… Toshiyo… Kitsune… Whore… Pure Sex? What?

It was hard for him to figure out what to do when he stared at Kitsune, gasping on the ground. Part of him wanted to try and behead Okami. The other part wanted to throw himself in front of Kitsune before she was killed. He wanted to do both. He tried to do both, bringing himself in front of Kitsune and brandishing his sword once more.

"Dallet, Dallet." Okami clicked her tongue. "What do you think you're doing? You think you would have learned that you don't stand a chance against me."

"... I don't care... I'll do what I can to protect the Light Star. I will die to do it."

Okami chuckled. "I'll be holding you to that." Her blonde hair floated about her in a dark, hazy aura. Even her sword seemed to radiate her growing power as she prepared her fatal charge.

Dallet felt pangs of frustration ring through him as Kitsune pulled foolishly down on his sleeve. "Onegaishimasu! Stop this!" She cried, and Dallet almost wanted to. Only almost.

If Okami had been paying better attention, she would have sensed the wave of green energy sent in her direction. Without setting up an adequate shield in time, the wave hit her. She fell, barely managing to keep a hold on her sword as she hit the ground. "God dammit!" she shrieked, jumping quickly back to her feet to see the wave's owner. It was Dilandau. "You son of a bitch!" She held up her sword.

"Dallet!" Dilandau barked. "Get the Light Star out of here! NOW!"

Kitsune didn't need telling twice. She grabbed Dallet's arm and pulled him out of the room, and as far away from Okami as possible.

Okami glared as the pair fled. But she didn't really care. The real one she wanted to take out was now alone in the room with her. "I was hoping I would run into you… Dilandau."

Dilandau stood casually, resting his sword at his side. "Stop this foolishness Okami. Come back to the Black Dragon Clan. You know that's where you belong."

"Bull shit!" Okami tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword. "I belong wherever I want to belong!"

"Okami, you're too crooked now to know where you belong…" Dilandau said, knowing full well the impact his words would make.

Okami felt like her chest had been pierced with a cold spike. It wasn't true, it couldn't be true. Okami wasn't crooked, the Black Dragon was! "You bastard…" She charged, letting her anger fuel her energy. Dilandau blocked with some difficulty, dodging another swift attack after the first.

"Okami, stop it!" Dilandau ordered. "Come back with us. Folken-sama won't try to hurt you if you're on his side!"

"Get real!" Okami paused the fighting, standing a good distance away. "Folken doesn't really seem to be the type who would want ANYONE in his organization whose power exceeds his own. If I go back there, then I'm putting a nail in my coffin!"

Dilandau frowned. Of course it was true, but he couldn't help but ask himself why he was trying to convince her to come back. Did he truly want her dead? No, of course not… He just wanted her to know the truth.

Okami charged again, locking blades with Dilandau and their fight continued. Okami could tell that Dilandau was holding back, because he wasn't striking. All he did was block her attacks. Frustrated, Okami slipped, she could tell the second she did, and so could Dilandau.

Before Okami knew it, her back was against the wall, and her sword far away from her. Cold steel was pressed against her neck and she felt it bite lightly into her skin. She thought this was the end, and she couldn't feel weaker. Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for her world to go black… but it didn't.

"…Okami…"

Along with Dilandau's gentle voice, she felt the sword leave her neck. Opening her eyes, she saw him sheath his sword. Confusion wrote itself across her face as he just stared casually back. "Okami I told you, there's more to than just wanting to kill you." Dilandau turned away, heading towards the door.

Okami felt another stab in her chest. "Dilandau, wait!" She called out, a distant desperation ringing in her voice, and Dilandau paused. "When am I going to know what that something is!"

Dilandau searched for the right words. He wanted to tell her the truth, but for some reason his voice denied him. "…When you come back…"

"But…" Okami protested weakly. "I just… can't!"

Dilandau didn't respond, instead he left, taking the rest of the Cavalry with him.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

"Kitsune." Dallet said harshly, looking down into her blood-smeared face with disapproving eyes. "When someone tells you to stay out of trouble, you stay the fuck out of trouble. You got that?"

She bowed apologetically. "Hai."

"If I'm fighting you don't get involved unless I need help and you know DAMN well it's okay to help me out, you got that?"

"… Hai."

"Good." Dallet despised the rough tone to his voice, but let it flow out, anyway. "Why were you so worried, anyway? You've never seen me in a battle until now. Do I seem that incapable? Because I wouldn't BE here if that were the case!"

"… I saw you. Okami killed you. And I saw that." Kitsune responded weakly. Dallet was her only sense of security and here he was scolding her. She felt alone.

"What, one of your visions? Kitsune, if that happens you get someone ELSE to help me. Don't go running in there as you are. I'm surprised the only blood on you is from my own hands!" As Kitsune apologized softly he stared at the dried blood marks created from his hands with disgust. "… Go wash that shit off your face. It doesn't suit you."

Dallet watched Kitsune bow again and begin to leave. "Kitsune."

She stopped in her tracks, her eyes still turned down to the ground.

"… You weren't supposed to see me like this. It's an ugly side of me… I mean, look." He held out his bloodstained arms and watched her look over him with sad eyes. "I didn't want you to see… Not yet. That's all. … And I'm sorry."

He watched a faint smile curl into her lips. "That's okay." She turned to leave again and he watched her take a few steps.

"Hey, Kitsune?" He saw her freeze. "Sometimes it's a good idea to go walk around at night… To help sort your thoughts. I think we both need that…"

"Are you going for a walk?"

"When the sun sets, yes. Maybe you should come along… We can get to know each other better. And the air would do you good."

Kitsune looked over her shoulder at him, rubbing a hand over her bloody cheek. "… That sounds fine."

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Kitsune opened up the doors to her closet and stared into its depths with a freshly washed face. She could still, however, feel the pressing of Dallet's fingers against her cheeks. He'd been angry at the time he had touched her, but the feeling that lingered still made her feel wanted.

Wanted. Okami hated her because she was wanted and Okami was not. But for some reason, Dallet was the only one who made her feel as wanted as she was right now…

'He makes you feel more wanted than you've ever been before.'

Kitsune spun to Toshiyo's voice. Now the shoulder-length hair had lightened from black to brown. Even his body build had changed. Suddenly, the only things remotely like Toshiyo were the voice and his almond-shaped eyes. '… That's what it is, you know. Now he's even fought for you… Now he's taking you out for a walk.'

"… But that's nothing…"

'Oh, it is something. If he could, he would take you out on a date. The issue of warfare is the only thing that makes it out of the question.' Toshiyo gave her Dallet's smirk. 'It's not about whether you've been wanted before. Many people want you around. But that man…' His laugh sounded too much like Dallet's, 'That man makes you feel so wanted, you feel loved. Loved like only a man can love a woman…'

Kitsune felt the fear pinch and nip at her insides as she watched Toshiyo go on casually about Dallet, as though he didn't care at all that Kitsune was still his girlfriend. And she went on to say so. "Toshiyo, don't you care that I'm dating you? Don't you care that Dallet is threatening your position as my boyfriend?" She let the words fall from her, though she was afraid that she might know the answer already. She did.

'No. Not really.'

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"… So, the point of the walking thing is to be leisurely about it. Why are you pacing around me?" Dallet asked, confusion wrinkling his brow. He watched Kitsune turn her pacing direction away from him and onward, giving Dallet no choice but to follow.

"I don't know why I'm pacing…" Kitsune said quietly, suddenly changing direction, heading right for him. She stopped when she could go no further, but her gaze remained locked to the floor. "… I'm scared." Kitsune bit her lip in an attempt to keep her tears back. "… I'm not cut out for this, Dallet… I'm frightened and weak compared to everyone! All I'm good for is volleyball and being an average, well-loved woman. That's it! And I could TRY to be more like everyone else… I could draw my sword and be just like everyone else, suddenly…"

"… But you're too scared."

"Too scared! Pathetic, but it's so true!" She spoke to the ground. "… Can't even look you in the eye when I say this stuff… Can't even handle all the visions I see… Not even the ones of Toshiyo!"

Kitsune turned away and kept marching on, but Dallet remained frozen for a moment. Toshiyo, her boyfriend of four-and-a-half years. The second time he'd heard his name. At last Dallet could make his legs move, and he followed Kitsune in silence before mustering up the courage to ask, "… Toshiyo?"

"You heard Okami mention him." Kitsune said bitterly.

"Your… boyfriend."

"My boyfriend from the Mystic Moon." Kitsune's body stiffened.

"You're having visions of him…?"

Kitsune dismissed the topic with a flourish of her quick hand. "They don't help me much. Nothing helps me much. All I keep thinking is, 'I'm not supposed to be here. I'm not supposed to do this.'" She pointed up at the Mystic Moon. "I had an okay life there, Dallet. It wasn't anything to get excited over, but I knew what I had going for me there. It was… a GOOD life. I had friends and a boyfriend and I didn't need anything else…! I didn't need THIS!"

"… But you do have this. That's all you have now… Your life on the Mystic Moon is –"

"I DON'T WANT TO BELIEVE THAT MY LIFE ON THE MYSTIC MOON IS DEAD! YOU CAN'T TELL A GIRL WHO HAD EVERYTHING TO LET IT ALL GO!" Kitsune cried, and she actually began to pound on Dallet's chest.

"Ow, ow, ow, stop it…!" Dallet said under a hissing breath as he caught her fists. "Kitsune, you DO have to let it all go…! You have no other choice in the matter!" Kitsune glared up at him with clear, dark eyes, but he met the gaze with an equally fierce look of his own. "Stop trying to run away from it…! We have all been there before! What makes you think you are alone in this?"

Kitsune pushed herself away from him, but he pressed on.

"Is it because of him…? Are you still tied to the Mystic Moon through your boyfriend?" He regretted how he spat the words out like they were poison to him. But honestly, they were. Kitsune had seemed like such a beautiful person to him, but as soon as it hit her that she had been ripped from one life and forced into another… WITHOUT her consent… she became so frightened she was no longer the Kitsune he had grown fond of. He missed that Kitsune. He wanted her back so bad he was almost willing to make her draw her sword right now. He wanted to make her take that sword and sever all ties to the Mystic Moon, become a woman of Gaea and Gaea only… But there was one tie to the Mystic Moon he knew he could never make her sever unless she wanted to.

"… Maybe I am." Kitsune talked to the ground, then to the Mystic Moon. Dallet wanted to blow the Mystic Moon out of the sky so that she would look at him, instead. "Four years is a long time… And now none of that is supposed to matter, anymore… Like Gaea is holding a gun to my head and telling me that Toshiyo doesn't matter anymore." She was silent for quite some time, letting the words ring through her: Toshiyo doesn't matter anymore.

"… But… Toshiyo… does matter to you, still." Dallet said quietly. He felt the waves of disappointment and jealousy wash over him, and he hoped that he wasn't easy to read.

"… Yes. Yes, he does." Kitsune tried convincing herself, ignoring the careless versions of Toshiyo she envisioned, denying the memories of the man with no smile and no effort to put into a relationship. She heard Okami call her a whore, call her a WHORE because she ran into a man that gave her the time of day… and she was still tied to the Mystic Moon! But what could she do, have a Gaea fling while Toshiyo waited in the belief that they were still together? Would that make her less whorish? No, she could only try to deny herself the better man. That was all she could do. "… I love him, Dallet. I love Toshiyo." She said firmly, convincingly.

Kitsune listened to Dallet say, "Good…" in a soft, sad tone that didn't sit right with her. And the only Toshiyo should could picture in her mind while she commanded herself to love him had long, brown hair.

**To be continued…**


	8. Chapter 8

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 8 

"Has anyone seen Okami?" Allen asked as another bloodied corpse was carried into the cargo hold.

"Not since the fight started." Millerna said as she covered the corpse's face with a blanket. "She's not among the corpses. This is the last of them."

"There she is, boss!" Reeden pointed to the door, and Okami walked in.

She was in a complete daze, and Allen rushed up to her. "Okami, you're hurt!" He placed a hand on the wound on her neck, examining the blood that had begun to soak her shirt.

"I'm fine." Okami was too out of it to care that he was touching her.

"Don't be stupid, you're bleeding all over the place."

"It's just a scratch." Okami pushed Allen away and looked over the room. A row of covered dead bodies lay in the middle. "What's the death count?"

Allen sighed. "They hit us pretty hard. They killed seven Abaharaki, we could only get three of them…" He pointed to three bodies covered in the corner.

"What do you do with the bodies?"

"The bodies of our troops go back to their homelands, where they will be buried." Gazing sadly at the white cloth, Allen frowned.

"…And what about them?" Okami pointed at the three lifeless frames of the Cavalry members.

"We burn them as fuel for our boiler."

Okami felt her stomach clench, sickened by the injustice of the cadaver's fate. She made her way over to them, and everyone stared as she pulled back the fabric on one of the dead masses.

The pale, wide-eyed stare of Ryuon met with Okami's, and another wave of sickness hit her. Her face grew as pastel as his.

"Okami? Are you alright?" Allen knelt on the other side of Ryuon, staring with concerned eyes.

"Allen I've… never killed a man before…" Okami said slowly. "Until… today, that is... Look at what I've done." She wiped a stain of blood off the flawless pallor of Ryuon's skin.

The blonde man nodded in his understanding, having been there before. "You had no choice, Okami. He would have killed you first."

"Is that all this world is about?" Okami frowned. "Kill or be killed? How depressing…"

"You'll get used to this life. I promise."

"Allen…" Blinking back her tears, the hazel-eyed woman grimaced. "Please send them home."

"What?" Confused, Allen's eyes bore into Okami's face.

"Let their fate in death be in the hands of those they placed it in life. They were men too. They deserve to go home."

"Okami…"

"It's not their fault their leader is evil. They don't know what they're doing is so wrong. Don't punish their memory by destroying their only physical remnants!" She pleaded, still blinking back the tears.

Allen stared, dumbfounded at the beautiful, distressed woman before him. "Why do you care so much, anyway?"

"Someone once told me… that the line between good and evil is thinner than we all think. How can we consider ourselves the 'good guys' if we have such disrespect?"

Shaking his head, Allen wondered just how this woman had managed to convince him as quickly as she did. "Alright." He said. "We'll have the bodies sent back. Will you feel better?"

Okami nodded, keeping her eyes trained on the still face of Ryuon. "Yes, thank you."

"Reeden!" Allen stood. "Make the arrangements for these men to be taken to the Black Dragon Clan fortress."

"Yes sir!" Reeden left the room in a hurry.

Allen walked away from Okami, and she just kept staring at Ryuon's lifeless face. He had lovely green eyes. "Ryuon…" She whispered. "I'm sorry… the least I can do for you is send you home. Please forgive me." Okami closed his eyes for him, saying goodbye one last time.

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"You're lucky." Allen said, wiping the crusted blood away from Okami's wounded neck. "Any deeper and you would have been beyond saving."

"Hmm." Okami gave her absent-minded grunt, staring blankly at nothing.

"Okami? You seem distant. What's wrong?"

The Dark Star opened her mouth, then closed it again, not knowing exactly what to say, or even if she could trust Allen.

It was almost as if Allen could read her mind. "You can trust me, you know? I didn't become leader of the Abaharaki by being a backstabber."

Okami actually smiled, chuckling. "I suppose you're right…" She sucked in a deep breath, and let it spill. "I just… feel awkward is all."

"Awkward? How so?" Allen dabbed alcohol onto Okami's cut, causing her to flinch.

She continued anyway. "I think of the way I am right now. You know, my personality? And then I think of how I am in battle, or when I'm thinking about fighting and killing. It's scary. I'm two different people... The things I do and say in conflict, I come to regret later…" Okami's face morphed into a frown. "I hate it. I wish I could just act, and feel the same way about it for the rest of my life..."

"Don't worry about it for now." Allen said, and he clutched Okami's hands in his. "It's a trial that all warriors have to go through. The adrenaline tells you to act in a certain way, and when it's gone, you're left with the guilt. In time, you will come to know that you fight for the greater good, and you won't feel as blameworthy."

"… I hope you're right…"

"Trust me, I am." Allen stood. "I'll have Kio come up and bandage that for you."

"Don't worry about it. A bandage would be too annoying for me." Okami touched the wound on her neck and flinched again as it stung.

"Alright. But don't touch it, it will get infected."

Nodding, Okami crossed her legs, perching herself on her bed as Allen left.

She wanted to believe what Allen had said, but it was hard when she didn't tell the truth about what was REALLY bothering her. True, she was a different person in battle, but that wasn't everything. When she killed Ryuon, she had enjoyed it. It was an intoxicating, pleasurable aphrodisiac. And now, it scared her the shit out of her. She couldn't understand why it was that she took so much delight in destroying a life.

Irritated with her confusion, the flopped backwards in her bed, settling on her back and gazing at the ceiling. Okami could feel warm blood ooze delicately down her neck. She quickly wiped it off before it seeped into her pillow. Another stab of pain racked her cut, and she cursed Dilandau under her breath.

Dilandau… Okami's people-reading skills were too raw to be able to see through her anger when around him. So she could never tell what he was thinking, what he was feeling. It frustrated her. Why couldn't he just tell her what was going on? It had become obvious that he didn't want her dead. He had the chance, and he let it pass him by. The answer was driving her crazy, because she knew it was obvious, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. But why did she care so much? He was an enemy now!

'It's because you thought you could love him… forever…'

_Shut up! No one asked your opinion! _Okami pressed her hands over her ears, trying to block out the voice that was coming from her own mind. That stupid little voice that always attempted to make her live by her heart, her feelings. "Stupid… look at what my feelings got me… nothing but heartbreak, again."

'Don't blame Dilandau for your father's mistakes.'

_SHUT UP! _Okami's heart was pounding. "You don't know anything!"

Furious, she rolled out of her bed, rushing out of her room to find someone to talk to; the only thing that could get rid of that stupid voice.

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Dilandau shut and locked his door, barring out anyone who could see him as distressed as he was. "Damn it." He clawed at his hair, pulling off his headband and tossing it and his armor onto the floor. If Folken found out that he hadn't killed the Dark Star when he had the chance, death would be a blessing.

Twice. He had now failed to kill the Dark Star twice. And yet somehow, this didn't surprise him. The cut he left on her neck left a wound on his heart as well. He couldn't understand what was wrong with him. Before Okami came along, he could kill any woman without so much as a second thought. But now, his entire soldier facade was

beginning to crumble. He hated it.

"Dilandau-sama!"

"WHAT!" Dilandau screeched, not happy with the interruption.

Dallet opened the door, bowing deeply in apology. "I'm sorry to bother you, but, Dilandau-sama... the bodies of the men lost in battle yesterday... They're... here!"

Dilandau cocked a brow, annoyed. "What are you talking about?"

"The bodies of our most recently lost... They've been brought back to us...!" Dallet stumbled over his shocked words. "I know... It's... abnormal... But... They're here...!"

Narrowing his eyes, the commander frowned. "Show me." He said simply.

"Yes, sir...!" Dallet proceeded to lead Dilandau out of his room and down the hallway to the fortress square, where three bodies had been placed in a row, covered in sheets. "... Here..." Shakily, Dallet pulled back a white sheet, revealing the pale, disgustingly warped face of Ryuon. "... They're definitely the right ones... They look to have died at the right time..." The smell was horrendous, and Dallet kept his face turned away.

Dilandau, completely passive to the stench, crouched down to examine the body. "What's this?" He pulled out a folded white piece of paper, splattered in the corner with dried blood. Slowly unfolding it, his eyes widened slightly when he scanned over its message.

Grimacing, Dallet recovered Ryuon's distorted face. "What is it, Dilandau-sama?"

"It's a note… from the Dark Star." Scanning the note once more, he read it aloud. "_It would only be appropriate to return these. After all, I'm still only human. -The Dark Star_"

Shocked, Dallet stared wide-eyed at his commander. "She would have the decency to return them? After all the disrespect she gave us?"

Gritting teeth, Dilandau stuffed the note in his pocket. "It would seem so." Trying so hard to maintain his bad-ass reputation, he smirked, adopting a sarcastic tone. "Apparently she's still human."

Dallet swallowed, gathering all the courage he could. "... With all due respect, sir... You've been... acting unwell, lately..."

The commander stiffened, his tone became dangerous. "Watch it, Dallet."

Regardless of the knowledge that Dilandau could pummel him to within an inch of his life, Dallet pressed on. "Dilandau-sama... This is probably not my place to speak out like this... But you have been out of sorts with yourself since the Spirit Stars came around..."

Frustrated and angry emotions that had been welling up inside of Dilandau burst through as he roughly grabbed Dallet by the front of his armor, pushing him roughly against the wall. "You're right." He hissed, connecting a close-fisted blow to Dallet's cheek. "It isn't your place!"

Dallet stumbled, pressing a hand to his face. Regardless of Dilandau's physical warning, he pressed on. "Dilandau-sama!"

Dilandau paused at the door, trembling in his anger. "…What."

"... It's okay to like her, Dilandau-sama. It's probably the only thing that will save her."

The commander's anger subsided slightly, but he still was trembling with rage. "What does it matter? She's gone now…"

Dallet straightened himself. "No, she's not. She's away from you. But she's not gone. If she was... she wouldn't have brought them back." Pointing at the bodies, he hoped that his words could reach his commandant.

Something deep inside told Dilandau that Dallet was right, but there was no way he would admit it. Trying desperately to retrieve his shattered mask, he spoke. "Funny, Dallet..." He chuckled sardonically. "She didn't bring them back for me. She brought them back to save her own conscious..."

"I only half-believe that."

"In these types of situations... Half is NEVER good enough." Dilandau muttered bitterly, hating how weak and vulnerable he sounded.

"You don't believe there's more to it than saving her conscious?"

Once again, Dilandau found it essential to lie through his teeth. "No."

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

"See… See, Kitsune, it's empty right now. Everyone is too busy with the bodies that came in to train, today. So we're alone." Dallet said softly as he pulled Kitsune into the training room by her tattooed wrist.

"I know." She replied quietly, looking at her tattoo and biting her lip. She ignored him as he took a sword for himself and then took one for Kitsune. But she could not ignore the fuzzy warmth that radiated from the sword as he lightly, carelessly tapped the sheath on her head.

"Wake up in there. You told me this morning you would take your sword up." He spoke formally, like a teacher, but he maintained a kind face. "… Odd. We've got ourselves some static electricity going on…" He pulled the sheath closer to himself and watched her hair follow it.

Annoyed with the situation, Kitsune waved her arm between the sheath and her hair, bringing her hair back down. "Stop being so lighthearted about it, Dallet! You think I'm not scared?"

"… No. But if I was serious you'd be running away right now." Dallet held out her sword. "Take it. You owe me something if you turn out okay after this is done."

Kitsune stared at the sword in his hand for a long moment, hearing only Dallet's soft breathing above her. She observed the sheath, which was a pale, semi-iridescent white. It reminded her vaguely of pearl. Within that sheath was a blade that had the power to spill blood in the heat of war… but here she was hoping it would return her life to peace.

"… Take your sword, Kitsune." Dallet's voice came through to her.

"Hai." Kitsune replied, but it was more so a confirmation to herself than a response to Dallet. Her hand hovered over the sword, now, and she felt that constant warmth run through her whole arm. She had to curl her fingers and then stretch them out to be rid of the tingling feeling they had. She was distinctly reminded of a time when she was very small… She had been dared to touch an electric fence. She felt the very same way right now.

"Kitsune…"

"Hai!" She quickly took hold of it. It was caught in her grip, warm and tingly throughout her arm, and she hadn't even drawn her sword, yet!

Dallet offered her a warm smile. "… Good. Now come on, tie it to you and get ready to draw."

She obeyed, feeling the tingling echo through her hip, now. The two of them moved to the center of the empty training room, and Dallet drew his sword, getting into the right stance. Kitsune observed him for a moment, watching his solemn soldier's face stare back at her with the calm readiness of a man prepared to die. And to think, he was only training. That soldier's face was slightly broken when a corner of Dallet's mouth lifted in a confident smirk. "… It's your turn." He said softly. "I don't need to tell you a thing. Once it's done, you'll be as ready as I am… Draw."

She wasn't sure if she could ever fully express all the feelings that rushing through her as she unsheathed her sword speedily. She initially felt that high tingling sensation intensify to levels she was sure were unsafe. She felt, literally, electrocuted. The pain and literal shock sent her to her knees and made her cry out, but she refused to let go of her sword. She'd take it all in, she wouldn't wimp out like the coward she'd been for so long. And it turned out that after she had fallen, she didn't need to worry about more pain. She felt things flood through her, memories of cold, harsh war and enough spilt blood to fill all of Gaea to its edges, knowledge of the sword and the power of lightning… no wonder she felt electrocuted. In spite of all this information and morbid imagery that flowed through her, she felt a sense of calm wash over her. Her predecessor had seen more blood than would make Kitsune comfortable as woman of the Mystic Moon, but she was so much more than that, now. Kitsune was a woman of Gaea, and a woman of extreme power. And yet, she was a woman of peace, someone who knew right from wrong. Someone who could make decisions so well she could keep Gaea in a state of peace for as long as she lived. Kitsune the Light Star was no one to fear. She was exactly who Kitsune was born to be.

And it all hit her then, in that short moment after she'd cried out. It all flowed through her until it brought her to her feet, and she saw Dallet had dropped his stance and stepped several paces closer to her, worry etched into his face. Only then did she realize that she had two tears dripping down her face, one from each eye. They were tears of release and comfort, more than anything else.

Dallet was amazed to see that the two tears glowed until Kitsune wiped them away. "Kitsune, are you okay?"

And with that Kitsune held her sword before her, perfectly poised and wearing a confident smirk that rivaled Dallet's. "Hai. Now let's duel."

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"So I looked at him straight in the eye, and said 'The God of Ugliness wants his face back!'."

The sound of several notes of uproarious laughter flooded the large room. Members of the Abaharaki swayed along with the caravan, as it would hit several bumps. They were on their way to Torushina.

The laughter died down, and a splitting headache struck the psyche of Okami. "Owie…" She muttered, massaging her temple with gentle fingers.

"You ok?" Allen asked, turning away from their dinner to stare at the woman seated beside him with concerned eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just have a bit of a headache is all. I think I'm just going to turn in early." Okami stood up from the dinner table, accepting several 'good nights' and fond farewells. Smiling she closed the door to the mess hall and collapsed against it, her headache causing crippling pain. She slumped to the floor as visions of the Black Dragon Clan training room obstructed her sight. Kitsune had drawn her sword.

The pain went away, and an evil, sadistic smirk contorted the features of the Dark Star. If she had a mirror, she would have seen the inhuman dark flare in her eyes. "So it begins…"

**To be continued… **


	9. Chapter 9

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 9 

Practicing with his sword seemed to be the only thing that could possibly keep Dilandau's mind off Okami. The moons hung high in the night sky as he practiced brutally in the empty training room. He slashed down his invisible enemies, remembering to breathe his steady rhythm. Sweat trickled down his pale, moonlit face and down his shirtless chest. He didn't know what time it was, all he knew was that there wasn't pair of eyes as wide open as his. It was late, and once again he couldn't sleep. The mountains outside the window rolled by. The Black Dragon Clan fleet was on their way to Torushina, where Folken would be performing the rite to resurrect the Alseides Dragon Armor.

The Alseides… Dilandau remembered watching two girls tumble out of it's newly cracked open control chamber, one landing harshly on top of another. One of the girls had immediately caught his attention, the one whose face was shrouded by a mass of curly blonde hair. He remembered her sheepish, nervous smile as she crouched on the ground at his feet. He remembered the horrified expression on her face when he asked her if she was the 'Dark Star'.

His favorite memory was seeing her in that black satin dress. He didn't know her name, and she didn't know his, but even then he was completely taken by her. Her downcast gaze, the way her beautiful hair tickled her hipbones, how cute she looked when she said 'thank you'.

Dilandau roughly shook his head. What the hell is wrong with him! He didn't even KNOW this woman! And yet here he was going off like some kind of love struck _child_! He was a soldier! More so, a commander! He wasn't supposed to feel pity, or compassion… or love.

Again, Dilandau mentally slapped himself, and tried to resume his training. No good could ever come from that kind of thinking.

'Denial, denial, denial… is that all you're ever about?'

…_Shut up._

'Everyone knows that there's something wrong… everyone except you. So why can't you just admit it?'

_There's nothing to admit._

'And there you go again. You've always been like this, afraid of your own feelings!'

_Leave me alone. _

And it did. The foolish little voice in his head didn't respond, but he halfway wanted it to. But half was never good enough…

Dilandau dropped his sword, unable to take it anymore. He sat down on the ground burying his face in his hands in an attempt to keep these swirling, alien emotions at bay. "Alright!" He yelled into the empty room. "You WIN!" He sighed. "If Okami were here… I would tell her the truth."

'… Well THAT'S a big fat lie… if she were here, you'd puss out again. You'd do nothing but pull your "I don't need anybody because I'm Dilandau" bit.'

_I thought I told you to leave me ALONE!_ Dilandau nearly pulled out his hair, frustrated by the straightforwardness of it all. He couldn't argue with that, because he knew it was true. He would wimp out again. Dilandau hated himself sometimes, because it was times like these that made him realize that he was his own worst enemy.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Kitsune idly ran her hands along the pearly sheath of the sword she now claimed as her own. Earlier she had been there for a funeral service that involved a ceremonial burning of the bodies, giving their spirits back up to the heavens above them. She had watched the whole burning… she'd even helped dress the bodies for the occasion… and not once did she flinch. Suddenly, it felt as though she had always seen things like this. Like she had grown up in a world of bloodshed, in spite of having the duty of keeping the peace. She decided she couldn't complain. It felt good to not feel small in Gaea. It felt good to adjust.

But there were two things she couldn't adjust to, and one was the constant vision that Okami would kill Dallet. Indeed, it still plagued her now and then, but now that she'd awakened, she did a better job of handling her visions. So no one but her knew that the vision still haunted her, sometimes even entered her dreams. It did that night, and that was why she sat on the floor of her room, holding her sword.

The other thing that she couldn't adjust to came to her just then.

'My, aren't you a big girl, now?'

"Shut up, Toshiyo…"

'Oh, but don't you love me?' Kitsune refused to look at the shadowed vision in front of her. 'Of course, there really isn't much reason for you to, is there? You've nearly completely abandoned your life on Earth save your ties to me. And then, you've got him.'

Kitsune's fingers gripped about her sword. "Don't talk about him anymore…"

'Why? Does it bother you, how wonderful and promising he is? And yet, you refuse him, because you wish to remain tied to me.'

Kitsune unsheathed her sword and made a big show of examining the blade, letting the light from the Mystic Moon play off the metal and flash in her vision's face.

'You wish to remain tied to apathetic me… Or is there something more to your hesitation? Come now, talk to your uncaring boyfriend.'

"I don't need to tell you anything. You're not real, anyway…" Kitsune hissed softly.

'But I am real. I'm on the Mystic Moon, not caring that you have mysteriously disappeared. How would you feel if I told you that I've moved on already?'

Kitsune's narrowed eyes were touched with tears.

'Does it hurt at all? Do you hate me for it? Or has part of you hated me all along anyway?' The vision laughed, and it was Dallet's laugh, but it sounded cruel mixed with the words. 'But you reject the one that could make you feel better. You refuse to let him in, though I wouldn't care if you screwed him the first day you went to Gaea. You refuse.'

"I have good reason for that!" She spat at him.

'Well, it certainly isn't me. That's not your real reason. It can't be, because you don't love me.' Kitsune could see a cruel smirk placed upon lips like Dallet's, reflected on the blade of her sword. 'You fear an outcome. You fear a possible future for that man.'

"Stop it…"

'He's such a valiant fighter… How soon before he dies, do you think?'

"STOP IT!" Kitsune slashed her sword at the vision she'd grown to hate, her blade biting into the floor of her room. Her vision blurred with the hot tears that finally escaped her dark eyes.

'Don't cry…' The voice had changed to a gentle softness. Kitsune cautiously opened her eyes, blinked away her tears, staring at the vision fully. Toshiyo was no more. It was Dallet, now, Dallet smiling gently in that light way that made her blush. 'Thank you for caring…'

Kitsune couldn't take it anymore. She took her sword back up, sheathed it quickly, strode from the room in a personal rage. It didn't matter how honest Toshiyo had been through that tormenting vision, she refused to hear it, acknowledge it. Now Toshiyo made her face it all. If he were here, she would've hit him hard, but he wasn't. All she could do was stew around inside while Dallet continued to treat her like a Queen.

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"Damn it." Okami cursed as blood dripped from her newly sliced finger. Once again, she was too distracted to pay attention to what she was doing, and slipped as she sharpened her sword.

"A little spacey today, Okami?"

She smiled slightly, shaking her blonde locks and glancing at the blonde-headed Abaharaki leader. "Not really. Just slipped, is all."

"I see." Allen sat beside her. "We've finally reached Torushina. I was wondering if you would like to take a look around. You've never seen this place, after all."

Okami blinked. "Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah." Allen chuckled. "It's that obvious."

"Oh… sure. I'd like to take a look around." Standing up and sheathing her sword, Okami was startled when Allen stopped her blade.

"You may not want to carry a sword in town." He said. "Everyone knows that a woman who carries a sword is most likely a rebel. You may want to reconsider, because Torushina is under siege by the Black Dragon Clan."

Okami hesitated. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable without my sword." She clutched the hilt with white knuckles.

"I figured as much." Smirking, Allen picked up a pair of narrow shortswords. "They're specially designed to fit inside your boots. No one will know they're there."

"You had them made for me?" Okami blinked again, wide-eyed.

"No not really." Smirking, Allen began to walk away. "Don't think I like you THAT much!"

"You're so MEAN to me!" Giggling, Okami ran out the door after him.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

'I love him, Dallet…'

"No…"

'I love Toshiyo…'

"Why…?"

'Love him…'

"Why?" Dallet hissed firmly. Why, indeed! Why did she love this Toshiyo guy, whoever he was? Who WAS this Toshiyo guy? What did he look like? What did he do for a living? How did he act?

"Hey, Dallet, care to spar with me for a bit?" He heard someone ask. It was someone new to his position among the Dragon Cavalry. Dallet was getting used to this treatment. It was widely assumed that due to his association with Kitsune that he was a man with power, and thusly respected. Only a man with power could attract a woman with power.

Dallet dismissed him with a wave of his hand. He wanted to laugh. They thought she was with him! Idiots, all of them. The only one for her was a man from the Mystic Moon. And he, of course, was no man of power. He just fought well.

Idly, Dallet wondered what this Toshiyo guy was like. Surely he was handsome. He was probably a giant, built out of concrete, something so inhuman he was godly. Yes, probably. And he probably had a job that paid a huge amount of money… he was probably a man that could pay his way through life with Kitsune in tow. And surely, surely, he was gentle to her in spite of his rock-hard body. Yes, surely. He was man that would've been able to make sure Kitsune would never need to be the Light Star. Unlike Dallet, who could only be there when Kitsune drew her sword. Under Toshiyo's care, Kitsune never would have had to do such a thing. He was sure that's how it was.

Dallet was vaguely aware of someone calling to him. Someone striding next to him, talking, so unaware of his inner torment. He ignored the voice beside him and continued his angry march forward. Four-and-a-half years. Years! A long time to be with a person. Dallet had never been with someone for so long. He couldn't think of many people who had, unless they were married. … Now that he thought of it, Kitsune and Toshiyo have been together long enough to be married. Maybe that was why Kitsune had been wanted so bad to go back to the Mystic Moon. Maybe Toshiyo had presented her with a God damn diamond ring, and hugs and kisses and –

"Dallet!" The someone next to him promptly awoke Dallet from his nightmare with a sharp slap against the top of Dallet's head.

Dallet could not even take the time to be wide-eyed as his attacker roughly shoved him against the wall, where Dallet received another blow to his cheek. "D… Dilandau-sama!"

"Who the fuck else, Dallet!" Dilandau snarled. "Now that you've woken up, are you going to listen to me, or do I have to beat it into you?"

"N-no, sir!" Dallet nonetheless endured another blow to his body.

"You need to make sure we have a steady perimeter built around all of Torushina, Dallet. No one is to leave Torushina without going through us. You understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good! Now don't let me catch you ignoring me again, you got that? Or I'll beat you to where you'll be unfit for battle!" Dilandau spat angrily, and left Dallet in his angry, beaten, lonely mess.

Dallet could only stand and stare after him blankly, wearing that soldier's mask of his, before continuing his walk. He had no destination, no where to go to, but he pressed on, letting his whims take him where they would. They brought him down a flight of stairs, where the hallway had gone dark for reasons unknown to him. Probably to satisfy Folken's darker mood. Well, it suited Dallet's mood, too. He'd hit an all-time low and he decided to wallow in it… He had a destination now. Down here was a study. It was fairly dark, unfortunately, but it was quiet, making it the perfect place to sit and ponder. It was just what he wanted, and so he proceeded.

There it was, the dark, heavy-looking door. He pushed it open and let it hit the wall loudly. There was a squeal and what sounded like papers falling to the ground. Taken aback by the noise, Dallet's body stiffened. There was only one person here that could make such a squeal, and her head came from around a large, dusty bookcase.

Kitsune's tearstained eyes went wide upon seeing him, and she squeaked a short, "Hi!" before disappearing behind it again.

"Kitsune…?" Dallet called out, baffled, and rushed into the typically empty study, and moved around the bookcase to her. Kitsune had let herself fall to the ground, where she hastily shoved papers into a notebook she had carried with her. She was quickly sniffling up the tears that would have escaped her if he wasn't around. "… What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing…" She spoke without looking at him, and came to a stand. Dallet watched her body stiffen dramatically, her eyes widening. Kitsune tried shaking her head a bit, but it did nothing to take away her newest vision. In her vision she stood naked before him, and he stared, stared on with his warrior face.

"Are you lying to me?" His voice broke through. It was the only thing that made the vision go away.

"… Yes."

"… You miss him, don't you?" Dallet had to stare at the floor to keep from sounding to angry. It was apparently the wrong thing to say, because Kitsune moved around him and left quickly, leaving the question unanswered. A mass of papers fell from her notebook as she left, but she didn't come back to them, and they sat there on the floor of the study.

After a moment, Dallet sat on the floor, making himself comfortable while he tidied up Kitsune's papers. He intended to return them after he moped for a long while, and so he made a neat pile of them and places them aside…

Until he noticed the paper on the top was addressed to Toshiyo.

"That man…" Dallet hissed at the paper. He wanted to tear that paper to bits just because it had Toshiyo's name written on it. And yet, something prevented him from doing so. Instead, he wound up taking the paper into his hands and reading it. And it read thusly:

_Toshiyo,_

_I am so scared and you are no where near me. I miss you. Do you miss me back?_

_It's messed up here. I can see the Earth and the Moon both in the sky here, and there's all sorts of weird people with weird powers and prophecies and apparently I'm supposed to fit in right with them. But I've seen lots of blood and I don't want to belong here._

_I want to come back home and play volleyball and see you again. I want to go to volleyball practice and I want you to be there watching me._

A sentence was crossed out here, but Dallet could make out the words, "Even though you don't like it."

… _All the time here makes me think a lot. I see things now. I see really scary things. I see them all the time now but for some reason the scariest ones are about you._

_Toshiyo, I met a man here. His name is Dallet. I know the name sounds funny but here it seems like a fairly normal name. He is a great person, Toshiyo, but every time I get a vision of you, you become him._

_And… that's scary. Dallet is a wonderful man. He's been the friendliest of all the people here so far, and he's always making sure that I'm okay and happy… He tries to make me feel at home even though that's close to impossible here… at least he tries, you know? And to top it all off… he even developed a crush on me. He hasn't said anything, but I can feel it._

_Toshiyo my heart is breaking._

_We've been together for 4 years and that's a long time, but nothing's ever become of us, you notice that? We've remained distant. We never bonded. I continued checking out other guys and melting over them and you kept _

There was a long, dark scribble that allowed no hint at what was previously written. It was so heavily scratched out, the paper was almost ripped. There was a secret here, and it worried Dallet, but it didn't worry him enough to stop reading the letter and return it to its owner. He pressed on.

_I'm different now, but it's not because of you. Other men don't look as sexy as they used to now, but it's not because of you… It's because of Dallet. I don't need to look at anyone else anymore. All I need to see is Dallet._

_I'm scared because the man who makes the better boyfriend isn't the one I am dating._

_I know that if Dallet was you, he would've gone to all my volleyball practices, and he would've enjoyed himself. He would want to spend time with me. He wouldn't see me as a chore, or a duty. He'd see me as someone worthwhile._

_And I know that if you were the one here, you wouldn't do a thing to comfort me when I have all these disturbing visions. You wouldn't even notice that I was having them._

_It hurts that it took me 4 years to figure it out, Toshiyo…_

The sentence, "You are not a good boyfriend," was crossed out. Dallet couldn't figure out whether he should be happy that Toshiyo was not good in Kitsune's eyes.

… _It still hurts. It still hurts because_

That was the end. There was nothing left of the letter, cut off apparently once Dallet had opened the door. And Dallet could not begin to sort his feelings. He felt everything at once. Happy that Kitsune thought Toshiyo was crud. Happy that she liked him, too. Bashful that Kitsune had seen right through to him and picked up on his blatant crush on her... And maybe a little happy for that, too.

But… there were pangs of anger running through him, as well. Toshiyo wasn't good, Toshiyo wasn't perfect, and while that suited Dallet just fine, it meant Kitsune was unhappy. Toshiyo made her hurt, and he could do nothing about it. Kitsune had written words that nearly screamed that she needed Dallet, but she made no motions or written hints to be with him. He was still rejected, refused, and that hurt more than the dull throb he could feel on his head from Dilandau's first blow.

But most of all…

Kitsune had figured him out. Figured him out! How long had she known and how long had she wanted to be with him? 'I love him, Dallet…'

"Liar…"

'I love Toshiyo.'

"Liar!" Dallet snarled to his imaginary Kitsune. She's let him believe she wanted no one but Toshiyo, let him suffer to save her own reputation! When Toshiyo didn't have to matter, anymore. She could've left him in a flash, but she played on like she was chained to man who wasn't there for her anymore…

And left Dallet to rot.

**To be continued…**


	10. Chapter 10

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 10

The dim light of the overcast blue moon cast surreal shadows across the cobblestone streets of Torushina. Dilandau's boots clanked against the stones as he made his way up the streets, a group of the Cavalry in tow. He pointed fingers down separate streets, beckoning them to split up to patrol. When they were out of sight, the street was deserted, all civilians having been ordered to remain in their homes.

Dilandau sighed, staring up at the moons. His heart seemed to ache. He still had no idea where to find the Abaharaki, for it was never reported that they had entered Torushina. Where could Okami be? Was she alright? A bitter realization washed over him. Would she even want him to know? Crap. Probably not. "Dilandau…" He muttered to himself. "You're such a dumbass… You could have had something good and you pissed it away."

'Well NOW we're getting somewhere!'

Dilandau thought it best to just ignore, and he continued up the streets, patrolling for any possible stragglers. He tried not to let his thoughts wander, but right when it seemed like they would, a shriek brought him back to earth with an unpleasant thump.

"SHIT!" A woman yelled. Dilandau paused at the end of an alley, staring into its dark depths to see the open door of a tavern spilling its yellow light.

"Come back here you little BITCH!" A gruff male voice bellowed, and Dilandau observed a woman in black clothes come charging out of the door, a large red-faced man brandishing a sword behind her.

Dilandau felt his stomach jump to his throat. He recognized those black clothes, and especially that long curly hair. It was Okami. Immediately he unsheathed his sword, instinctively wanting to protect her, to gut that man who was threatening her, to make him wish he were never born.

"Okami!" Another voice resonated from the doorway, and a man in black with long blonde hair came tearing after Okami and the angry, drunken man. He also pulled his sword, rushing to protect the unarmed woman.

"Allen!" Okami cried out as the man grabbed her about the waist, pulling her close to his chest and he blocked a blow originally aimed for her head by the intoxicated male. Sparks flew when steel met steel, causing Okami to bury her face in the blonde man's chest.

The burly inebriated man swayed heavily on the spot, sputtering incoherent syllables. Allen didn't even give the man a chance before he drove his sword through his heart, pushing the man down in a limp heap.

"Allen…" Okami said, completely nonchalant to the dead body now at their feet. "You didn't have to do that. I could have handled it."

Allen still hadn't let go of Okami's waist. "It's no problem. Maybe next time you won't try to break a man's hand that's four times your size?"

Frowning, Okami pushed him away. "Maybe next time he'll know not to grab a woman's ass?"

"Well anyway, we should be getting back. Come on." Allen took her gently by the elbow, leading her away.

Dilandau stood unmoving, eyes wide, heart torn asunder. He did not just see Okami willfully in the arms of another man, another man eagerly protecting her. The image of his intimate touch on her waist replayed over in his head like a nauseating torture. The tip of his sword hit the cobbled street with a clank, his hands shaking, his stomach churning. A cold stone sat in the pit of his gut. This feeling was completely foreign to him; all that he knew was that it hurt… a lot.

'You waited too long, Dilly old boy."

_Please… just… don't say anything._ The pain inside of him was almost unbearable. He felt as though he had just lost her. _But I didn't have her in the first place…_

'You could have. You blew it, you egocentric fuck.'

"NO!" Dilandau screeched, dropping his sword, hands flying to his hair, grabbing it painfully by the roots. "I can fix this!"

'How? How can you fix things with Okami, if you can't even sort out your OWN feelings?'

_I can sort them out. I know I can._

'Could you? How long will it take, Dilly boy? How many years? And by then, would you be able to get what you want…?'

_I… don't know._

'Of course not, idiot! You'll never know at the rate you're going! You'll never know what you want, or how to get it…! You'll never know anything except how to kill!'

_THAT IS A LIE!_ _I'll know… I will fix things with her. I'll fix them because I… _Dilandau paused, feeling like the words were on the tip of his tongue, so light that he could breathe them out, and everything would be better.

'Because you what, Dilandau… Why will you fix things with her?'

"Because…" He said his words aloud, so the rest of the world could hear it, if it only strained to listen. The heaviness in Dilandau's chest seemed to melt away when he said his three words. "I love her…"

'Good boy. Now what will you do, now that you've admitted you love her?'

"… I'm going to fix things…"

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Dallet made a fist with one hand and gripped the stack of papers with the other. Half of him was afraid to knock, knowing that once he did, he might say things he would come to regret, he could ruin things with Kitsune…

Not that there was much of anything, anyway. There could have been, but she lied. She lied to his face and smiled that whole damn time…

That thought was enough to make him knock on her door, anyway. She opened the door cautiously, and he noted the sword at her side. He wanted to ask if she found him a threat, but he fought hard to keep his bitterness in check. "Kitsune."

"… Yes?" She seemed worried. "… Are you okay, Dallet?"

Her accent was adorable. She seemed to have no choice but to add more emphasis on the last syllable of his name… 'Dalléto…' Her tongue simply rolled that way…

It was also that tongue that lied to him.

"Are you?" He asked back.

Kitsune blushed and bowed her head just slightly. He wanted to tease her. He also wanted to scold her. "… I've been having too many visions at once… But I'll be okay."

"Okay." Dallet said, not believing her for a minute. He stepped inside without asking if it was fine by her. He wanted to explode right now, and he tried his hardest to keep it all in check as he held out the stack of papers. Kitsune blinked rapidly and reached for them. He pulled them back. "… Are you sure you're okay?" He asked one more time.

Kitsune quickly grew frustrated, her brows furrowing. "I'm fine. Stop worrying about me."

She'd lied and denied him once again…! Dallet gave up. "… Here." He thrust the papers at her.

"Thank you…" was her soft reply, and she took most of the papers. Dallet kept one for himself, but she thought nothing of it and went to stuff them in her notebook.

"Kitsune… You told me you loved your boyfriend."

Kitsune's body stiffened. She arched a brow. "Well… I –"

"Kitsune you lied to me." Dallet cut her off, letting loose his anger bit by bit.

"… What?" He could see the signs of worry begin to show on her face, and the thing was… he actually enjoyed it.

Dallet took up the letter he'd kept in his possession and read from it. "'I don't need to look at anyone else anymore. All I need to see is Dallet. I'm scared because the man who makes the better boyfriend isn't the one I am dating.'" He looked up and positively enjoyed the fear on her face. "You've wanted to be with me all along." He said the words harshly, letting each one fall on her heavily.

Kitsune had gone pale. "I… I don't know what you're talking about –"

"Stop denying it! I KNOW you have feelings for me!" He yelled.

He knew. Dallet knew, because she'd been dumb enough to write it out! She felt naked, completely naked, and he stared on behind a soldier's mask… but his eyes glowed with pain. Her most recent premonition had come to life far sooner than she'd thought.

He was back to reading the letter. "'He even developed a crush on me. He hasn't said anything, but I can feel it.'" He looked up again. "Fine, then. So you figured me out, too."

"Dallet… I –"

"You like me and you know I like you. But you've gone on being taken to your little… Mystic Moon boytoy of yours!" He was screaming now and he knew it. But he didn't care… it felt good to let go and vent. No wonder Dilandau was quick to yell. He let the jealousy nibble at him as he continued, "Going on about how much you miss him… And you don't even care that much about HIM, either!"

Kitsune was on her knees now, staring with wide eyes at the ground before her. It was hitting her too hard. Somehow, Dallet could not find it in himself to care. Too hurt to think, all he could do was yell. It was the only thing that made him feel better about his sorry situation. "You know, your letter does a good job of making you sound like you almost HATE this Toshiyo guy, but then why have you been running around telling me that you miss him when I ask why you look sad? … Why would you smile so much when I asked you to tell me about him?"

"Stop it…" Kitsune whispered weakly. Dallet had never come down on her so hard. She knew she'd been figured out, but she didn't expect all this anger rushing from him. He wasn't even Dallet, anymore…

Dallet pressed on, the ache inside him straining his voice. "Why would you smile when he's not a good boyfriend? You wrote it yourself! You scratched it out, but you did write it! Tell me, then, what makes him so bad?"

Kitsune had to bite her lip to hold back her tears. "Dallet…"

"What makes him bad, Kitsune?" Dallet read from the letter one more time. "'I continued checking out other guys and melting over them and you kept…' Kept what? You sure scratched it out to death. What did he do that was so terrible? Hit you?" He thought of the worst thing imaginable. It didn't matter if he hit it right on the head. All that mattered was that he made it known: He'd been wronged and he was angry about it.

Kitsune let out a ragged breath and shook her hung head, her ebon hair forming a curtain over her face.

"WHAT THEN?" Dallet screamed. "What are you a victim of, Kitsune? NEGLECT?"

Kitsune shot him an angry, torn look. It made Dallet freeze in all his rage. Her mouth was pinched into a tiny pout, the corners of her mouth quivering into a frown. Her eyes never looked so large as she stared up at him. They shot her own bits of anger at him, but they filled with tears, and her brows were giving away a near breakdown. But she refused to back down from staring at him. She flat out challenged him to take another stab at her, because he'd finally hit the mark: Toshiyo neglected her all four years of their life together.

The rage inside left with that look smeared on Kitsune's face. He had nothing to scream about, nothing to be hurt over. All that pent-up frustration was gone, and there was nothing left but the mess he made. "… You are."

At last tears left her, and her gaze moved away from him. "… That was UNNECESSARY."

"… I'm sorry…" He said softly. He really was, right then. The last thing he wanted was to be the cause of her tears… but here he'd made it all happen. He wanted to die.

"What, do you feel better now that you've called me the bad one here, you prick? At least Toshiyo never jumped the gun and pushed it further than it needed to go!" Kitsune spat at him, feeling the need to take a stab at Dallet's feelings as well.

She'd hit her mark, like she knew she would. Dallet's eyes widened before they narrowed. "So am I the bad one?"

Kitsune had no honest answer for that question. "Yes! No! I don't even care right now, just leave!"

Dallet wanted to drop down on his knees and hold her. He wanted to beg forgiveness, and kiss her, and make her feel better. He didn't want to leave…

But he did.

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He wanted to die. That was all that could run through his mind as he left Kitsune's room, dragging his boots down the hall, away from her. Was she crying? Was she never going to find it in herself to talk to him again? He wanted to die…

Dallet ran into something hard, causing him to stumble back a few steps. The first thing his eyes registered was the color red, and he knew instinctively: He literally ran into Dilandau. Quickly he put up his soldier's mask and braced himself for a few more blows. The perfect punishment for getting carried away in all his anger. "Excuse me, Dilandau-sama… I didn't mean to…"

The intimidating face of the commander remained passive, staring blankly at the man before him. "No harm, no foul." With that, Dilandau sidestepped around Dallet, making his way up the hallway, his mind clearly on something more important.

Dallet had to blink several times. That WAS Dilandau talking to him… right? "… Sir?" He took a few steps in Dilandau's direction, wondering if he'd get reprimanded for following him. He almost thought he wouldn't.

"What?" Even Dilandau's VOICE was passive as he wrenched open the door to his room, leaving it wide open for Dallet to follow. He didn't stop him, he didn't chastise him for following.

Dallet stepped cautiously into Dilandau's room, wondering if there was some sort of surprise attack coming up. "… This is probably not my place to say it… again… but… you are even more out of character than normal…"

"Is this a bad thing?" Dilandau stripped off his long-sleeve white shirt, trading it in for a black tank top.

"… I don't know… I don't think so…" Dallet said unsurely. "It doesn't seem to be, right now… You are less angry… Which is always a good thing…"

"You're babbling, Dallet." Unsnapping his belt, Dilandau laid his sword on his bed, leaving it there. "And I'm a little distracted, as you can tell."

Dallet quickly bowed. "Right! Sorry, sir!" He apologized, and noticed that Dilandau was dressing… fairly casually. He didn't even make a motion to put his sword back on. "… Where are you going, Dilandau-sama?" He asked bluntly. Normally he would've left the question unasked, but he felt like he could get away with asking, and it was better to be blunt than babble.

Dilandau seemed torn, part of him wanting to answer, the other part wanting to tell Dallet to leave him alone. He let the dominant side form his words. "…I'm leaving for a little while. There are a few things I need to set right."

"… Ah. I see." Dallet said solemnly. Things to set right… He had plenty of those. "Best of luck, then, sir!" Dallet bowed again. All the bowing reminded him too much of Kitsune. He quickly straightened himself and strode from the room.

"Dallet! Get back in here!" Dilandau barked, adopting his trademark commander voice.

Dallet went pale, but rushed back into the room, wondering if he was going to get hit NOW. "Yes, sir?"

"It's pretty obvious you need to fix a few things yourself…" Dilandau stared hard into Dallet's eyes. "Fix them. And that's an order." With that, he shooed Dallet away, having more important things on his mind.

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Dallet had been given the order to fix things, and yet, he could not make the motions to when he saw Kitsune at dinner. He only ate and stared at his own plate of food until the last bite was gone. Once that was done, he took small sips of his drink until that, too, was gone. All through the meal he though he could feel her eyes peering into him as he ignored her. He could feel the pain echoing from her, and along with that came Dilandau's order. 'Fix them.' Dallet had the power to make it all better if he would only talk.

He heard her chair make noise on the floor as she stood up and made a slow exit. At any point in that moment he could have fixed things. But he let her slip away.

"Hey, Dallet…? Are you in there, somewhere?"

"… What?" He asked gloomily.

"Wowwww… Mr. Moody, right here…" Guimel replied. "What's up with you?"

"My God, Guimel, you are dense…!" Dallet stood, then, and left the large table.

He did what he usually did when he had to sort out his thoughts. He went for a walk. There was nothing to sort, but he went on that walk, anyway, as though he had to sort out something. He knew what he had to do; it was just a matter of actually doing it. And the second Kitsune was by him, he froze. Like an unseen power threw up his blank soldier face and forced it to remain there. Suddenly he was cold and expressionless, even if he knew Kitsune was begging to hear him say something. He was neglecting her, just like Toshiyo. He'd only done it through dinner and he felt like dying. How did Toshiyo manage to pull it off for four-and-a-half years?

His body ran into something soft and short. He had to look down to find the dark crown of Kitsune's head. "… Excuse me." He said gruffly, and stepped to the side. Kitsune moved with him, and he despised the way his voice sounded as he asked, "What is it, Kitsune?" … Like she was a waste of his time.

She looked up at him with that same teary, angry look that made him want to break down and become enslaved by her, if that would make her feel better. Her voice came out strained. "Toshiyo is the bad one here and now you're acting just like him."

Dallet already knew that. He didn't need to hear it from her. "… Drop it, Kitsune. Before it all gets out of hand again." He said coldly, and moved away coldly, taking one heavy step after the other in order to leave. He could hear the shaken breathing that escaped her, but he could not find it in himself to go back. His mask was stuck on too well. But Dallet's mask could not make him stop in his tracks when Kitsune spoke again.

"Toshiyo, I am so scared and you are no where near me. I miss you. …Do you miss me back?"

She was reading the letter to him. That disgusting letter that Dallet wished he'd never found…! It ruined everything. Why was Kitsune reading it to him? Dallet listened to the torn sadness in her voice… it was a tone he'd somehow overlooked, or at least watered down a great deal. It seemed much more painful when she read it. As she asked Toshiyo that fateful question, 'Do you miss me back?' Dallet could feel the hopelessness drip from her voice. She knew the answer already… Toshiyo didn't miss her, at all.

"…I want you to be there watching me… Even if you don't like it…" Kitsune's voice cracked under the last sentence, and Dallet turned to look at her. She was even reading the parts she'd scratched out, trying to forget…! She looked like she was suffering already, but she pressed on, and Dallet let her.

"Dallet is a wonderful man. He's been the friendliest of all the people here so far, and he's always making sure that I'm okay and happy…" At last a drop of happiness dripped from her voice. Dallet could see the small smile curl her lips as she went on about how he treated her. It made him want to smile, too. The days before Dallet knew of Toshiyo… Those were the better days. It was fun to look back on them because Dallet felt he had a chance, then…

"Toshiyo my heart is breaking…" Kitsune killed the happiness, and Dallet wanted it back. As foolish as that might have been, he wanted to forget everything about Toshiyo. Dallet watched her blink back her tears and continue.

"We never bonded. I continued checking out other guys and melting over them and you kept…" Kitsune paused. Dallet waited with baited breath, knowing the answer, wanting and not wanting to hear it at the same time. "… neglecting me, and making me feel UNWANTED and completely UNLOVED!" She screamed brokenly, the tears escaping the eyes she shut in her desperate explosion. She went weak in the knees and dropped down, and Dallet felt himself take a few strides back to her. He was standing over her, looking down at the heartbroken lump at his feet.

"All I need to see is Dallet…!" Kitsune cried. "I'm SCARED because the man who makes the better boyfriend ISN'T the one I am dating…!" She choked on a sob. It made Dallet want to cry with her. He had been too caught up in his pain to really consider if Kitsune had a heart, and he knew Kitsune did. Kitsune had a very torn up heart. Dallet had refused to acknowledge it.

"… It still hurts. It still hurts because…" Kitsune had to stop and sniffled before the tears running down her would warp her voice into something incomprehensible. Dallet could finally feel his mask slipping. Here it was, the end of the letter. The ending Kitsune had been unable to write. "…Even though I'm not CHAINED to you anymore, I am SCARED…! Because Dallet is a SOLDIER… and I don't want… to have my heart break TWICE because he dies fighting…!"

The words hit Dallet hard. Dallet was a soldier. He'd been a soldier for so long he never stopped to think about dying in battle. If it happened, it happened. All he knew is that if he went out like that, it would be a valiant, good death… he would not die running. But in all his years as a fighter, he never stopped and wondered what anyone else would think about it. Not his family, not his friends. Not even the idea of leaving a woman he loved behind. But it hit him now, and he finally cast his warrior's mask away.

Kitsune had tossed the letter aside, and lay in the dirt, no longer needed. She was screaming in her tormented sadness. "I DON'T WANNA SEE HIM DIE IN MY HEAD OR IN REAL LIFE! I DON'T WANT HIM TO LEAVE ME ALL ALONE!" And at last she was done. There was nothing more to say. She'd made her position known, and that was all she wanted to do. Whether Dallet forgave her or not was not her concern. She just wanted him to know where she stood.

It was so quiet around her she almost wondered if Dallet had even taken the time to hear her. The idea of him not even giving her the time to talk made her heart sink to the ground before her, but then she heard the broken breathing of a man struggling in tears. She looked up and found that Dallet had dropped to his knees beside her, and tears were indeed flowing down his face. "Kitsune…" He could only stare at her for a moment, not knowing what to say first… Dallet gave up. "Come here…" He held open his arms and let Kitsune fall into him, wrapping them about her as she sniffled and tried to regain composure. "… I don't know what to do… I can't promise to not die… It would be unfair to ask you to risk it… What can I do? I am miserable, Kitsune…" Indeed, what could he do? All he knew was that he didn't want to remain in this position: Wanting Kitsune but putting so much at stake if he decided to be with her. He listened to her softly apologize, feeling the despair flow from her to mingle with his melancholy. "We're both miserable… But… Kitsune… if I died tomorrow, you'd mourn me like we were together, anyway… If I die… I hurt you, anyway…" That was true. Even if they did nothing about their situation, and let it run like how it was… If Dallet died tomorrow… Kitsune would die inside.

"… I don't win, do I?" Kitsune asked miserably.

"… Only if I don't die." Dallet said bitterly. He'd been trained to expect to die, and now here he was, hoping to remain alive like an average person would! "Does the Oracle know something I don't…?" He was afraid of the answer.

Kitsune held on to him tightly, as though he was going to vanish the second she said it. "… I've been having bad visions… The one of Okami killing you… hasn't left me, yet…" Her voice cracked. "The vision doesn't show you dead, but how am I supposed to feel if I keep seeing a sword coming down on you and you're too weak to block in time? How do I take that?"

Dallet let out a despairing sigh, his embrace tightening. "… I don't know what to do, then…"

Kitsune snapped. She'd finally hit rock bottom now, crying in Dallet's arms… She could go no lower… There was nowhere to go but up. She almost wondered if she'd gone crazy, filled with unfounded bravery. But she had nowhere else to go but up. "… Do me a favor…" She said quietly, the tears in her voice gone.

"… What?"

"… Ask me to risk it." Kitsune demanded quietly, yet boldly. Yes, she was sure she'd gone mad. But it felt better that way. She would rather throw all caution to the wind than be stuck here, running away from pain and creating her own web of loneliness.

She could feel Dallet's body tense up at the request. "Kitsune… I can't…" He froze up more when Kitsune threw herself against him desperately.

"Onegai…!" Kitsune begged, her voice pleading and hopeful.

Dallet tilted her chin up to find her blushing… It was the most adorable thing in the world to him. All he needed to do was wipe away her tears… He did so. And then he said, just above a whisper, "Kitsune… please risk it…"

"… I will!" Kitsune cried, and their lips met to seal the promise in a long-needed kiss.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

"Here's your room, Okami. You should get some sleep." Allen showed her to the room awarded by Dryden Fassa. "You're not rooming with Millerna, so her snoring shouldn't keep you awake!"

Chuckling, Okami shooed Allen out of her room. "I'll bear that in mind. Thanks Allen." With a final goodnight, she closed her door, pressing her back against it.

The light of the moons filtered in through the enormous bay windows, casting dark shadows across the room. Sighing, Okami threw down her bag and flopped clumsily onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow as an attempt to drown out everything around her, to silence all the emotions. A brooding storm was growing inside her chest; she could feel it.

A foreign sensation began to pound in the back of her head, and Okami bolted upright, casting wide eyes about the room. She wasn't alone.

Making a dive for her sword, she spun to glare into the shadows, holding the glowing steel blade before her. "Another assassination attempt, Dilandau?" She hissed.

"…How could you tell I was here?" A familiar voice permeated from the darkness.

"Your hair was a giveaway." Okami said, indicating the moonlight shining off Dilandau's platinum hair. "It doesn't exactly blend in with the shadows." When Dilandau stepped into the light, Okami's eyes wandered over his body, only to find that he wasn't carrying a weapon of any kind.

Her momentary deviation of eye contact was all the invitation Dilandau needed. Rushing forward, he dodged her blade. Like lightning, Okami's hands were pinned, a hand was clamped over her mouth, and her sword clanged on the floor. "Please don't scream." He begged, an obvious anxiety dripping from his broken voice. "Please don't make me leave… not until I say what I've come here to say."

Okami couldn't help it, but she felt her stunned body relax against his, seeing the desperation in his eyes. His hand slowly fell away from her mouth, and she sucked in a deep breath. "What do you want?" She bit out, not liking how her voice would quake under those eyes of his.

Dilandau faltered, the speech having been planned out, and yet words utterly failed him. Under her harsh glare, his nerve was dissolving by the second.

"Well?" She pressed. "Why are you here! Is it to bring me back to the Black Dragon Clan so you can win your precious WAR!"

"No!" Dilandau began to panic as her anger intensified, knowing that his words would sound better to her if she were calm. He struggled to say more, syllables catching in his throat, and froze with Okami's next outburst

"WHY are you here!" She cried.

"I'm trying to bring you BACK to me!" Dilandau blurted. The words just tumbled out. Great. Could nothing go according to plan tonight?

Okami felt as though anything stable in her life had suddenly fallen away. The foundation she had so painstakingly began erecting since the second she came to Gaea shattered. "…Nani…?" She breathed, voice tiny and frail, and heart pounding.

"Okami…" Dilandau bit back his pride, crushing his mask as it fought to return to him. "I never wanted to hurt you… not then… not now… not ever. For that reason… I don't want you to EVER return to the Black Dragon Clan." Dilandau took a step closer when Okami didn't respond; she just stared at him with wide, confused eyes. "Okami I want to _protect_ you when you're afraid…not make it worse."

"Dilandau…" Okami felt her heart fluttering, wondering why it felt so good to hear him say that, but she quickly shook her head. She burst to tell him everything, to just pour out her fears and cry them away. "I can't… no one can help me now…" She said, more to herself than to him.

A pain echoed in Dilandau's heart. "Why not? Why can't I help you?" He reached out for her, but stopped before touching her when her gaze dropped to the floor.

"Because… I feel as though Okami doesn't exist anymore. Everyday it's like I'm consumed even more by the blackness in my heart. Soon I will be broken until there's nothing left but darkness… corruption…"

Sighing, Dilandau pulled Okami into a tight embrace, cradling her against him. "Okami… don't talk like that."

"You don't understand… Soon I will have to summon my Spirit, Aeopyx… He'll take me over… just like he did the Black Guardian."

Part of Okami wondered why she was letting Dilandau hold her like this. After all, he had tried to kill her, right? But it was if now he was different. Okami finally began to believe that he didn't mean her any harm. She gripped the back of his shirt, burying her face in his neck and breathing in his warm scent, enjoying the feeling of him running his fingers through her hair. Nothing could have felt better.

The pain in Dilandau's heart was almost unreal. "Maybe you won't have to fight…" He whispered, letting his fingers involuntarily brush through her flaxen curls. "Maybe there's another way…"

"I want to believe that Dilandau, truly I do. But…"

"Sshh." Dilandau hushed her, pulling her back to cradle her face in his hands, gazing into her hazel pools. "I don't want to hear anymore about darkness. For now…" With his thumb, Dilandau brushed away Okami's falling tear. "Don't cry. There's nothing else but me… here with you. And you're safe now."

Tears of a different kind began to well in Okami's wide eyes. No man had ever held her like this before. No man had ever comforted her like this. She wanted nothing more than to just melt into Dilandau, to become one with his loving eyes, his warm smile… but perhaps she could settle for the next best thing…

Slowly, Okami swept a hand through his platinum locks, watching them drape carelessly across his cheek. His gentle eyes held a plea, as if he wanted something so badly, but was terrified to ask. Okami knew exactly what that something was. She gently touched his cheek, sweeping aside his hair with her thumb, guiding him to what he wanted.

Their lips met, sealing the pair in a passionate, tender embrace.

Dilandau's senses were aflutter. Everything else in the room had completely dissolved, and all he could feel was Okami, her warm lips against his, her heart beating against his chest. He held her so tightly, hoping that this moment would never end.

But it did, rather abruptly. A loud knock sounded from Okami's door, and the two were immediately robbed the magical afterglow of their first kiss.

Panicking, Okami dragged Dilandau to the door, pushing him behind it. She stood for a moment, eyes wide and searching her mind quickly for a solution to their very bad predicament.

"Okami!" Allen's voice bellowed. "Okami is everything alright in there?"

Quickly, Okami roughly smeared her hands across her hair, messing it up horribly. She quickly adopted a very sleepy look on her face and opened the door.

"Okami?" Allen breathed a steady sigh of relief. "Is everything ok? Gaddes said he heard a man's voice coming from in here."

A very convincing look of sleepy confusion crossed her face. "A voice? What voice?"

Allen nodded. "He must have been dreaming again. Sorry to have woken you, Okami."

"No biggie." Faking a wide yawn, Okami closed her door, and then breathing a deep sigh, she leaned heavily against the door.

Dilandau couldn't help but smile. "So?" He said, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close. "Where were we?"

Okami chuckled. "Right here."

They picked up where they left off, this time they weren't interrupted.

To Be Continued… 


	11. Chapter 11

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 11

"… Where's Dallet?" Guimel wondered idly as he prodded the remains of his breakfast. "Usually he's here before all of us…"

"Word has it he's been reprimanded twice already for disrespecting Dilandau-sama." Gatti said quietly, finishing off his drink.

"What? You, Gatti? Participating in the rumor mill?" Guimel smirked.

"Not PARTICIPATING. Just LISTENING. There's a difference." Gatti retorted. "Anyway… Maybe he's been reprimanded a third time?"

"I didn't think it was possible to get away with that…" Shesta commented.

Gatti shrugged. "In case you haven't noticed, Dilandau-sama's been out of character, lately. Hence the slack, probably."

"Out of character?"

"Well, at least like he's got something heavy on his mind…"

"Any idea what it is, Mr. Rumor Mill?"

"No, I don't Shesta." Gatti said through gritted teeth. "Hey, YOU can answer Guimel's question… Go spazz out! Tell us where Dallet is!"

Shesta's eyes widened. "I resent that."

Shesta did not need to "spazz out," as Gatti fondly called it, because it was at this moment that the door to the large dining room opened. Kitsune was first to enter, and Dallet followed.

No one could quite explain why they all found it necessary to halt conversation and stare at the two as Kitsune moved to the closest chair and Dallet sat right next to her. Not across from her, like he usually did, but right next to her. It was the little things that they noticed. They both turned their chairs just enough to face each other a bit. Dallet's moody nature, something that they'd gotten used to these days, was no more. It took a while for them to realize that Kitsune was staring at them all with confused eyes. When they did notice, they all quickly slipped their gazes to their plates.

Out of the corners of their eyes, they could see Dallet whispering a question to Kitsune. Kitsune whispered something back, and then they could all feel Dallet's stare piercing into them. "Okay. What is it?" He asked sharply.

"N-nothing!" They all replied too quickly.

"Uh-huh." Dallet muttered, not convinced. From there a silence permeated the room, and Gatti watched Dallet quietly intertwine his fingers with Kitsune's.

"… So the rumors are true, then." Gatti remarked.

Kitsune blushed. "Rumors?"

"You haven't heard what people are say–"

"It's true now." Dallet interrupted. "That's all that matters. Why do you care, gossiper?"

Gatti frowned. "I'm no gossiper –"

"You just listen?" Dallet finished for him, wearing a smirk.

"… Yes. Exactly. And by the way… Heard Dilandau-sama slapped you around a little bit. TWICE."

Dallet's smirk spread a little more. "That's surprising?"

"The fact that you have no noticeable damage is what's surprising, Dallet!" Gatti exclaimed.

Dallet laughed. "Dilandau-sama was actually kind, I guess."

"Any clue why?"

With this Dallet and Kitsune exchanged a glance no one could interpret. "… We have an idea." Kitsune said. Gatti, Shesta, and Guimel looked at her with interested gazes, and she waved them off with her free hand. "It's only an IDEA… Not like I KNOW anything."

"Tell us anyway!" Guimel demanded.

"Or you could ask him yourself…" Dallet murmured, snickering to himself. Dilandau had entered the room as well, but didn't make himself comfortable. He simply grabbed something small and prepared to leave immediately. As he passed by his red eyes had fixed themselves on the laced fingers of Dallet and Kitsune.

"Dallet." Dilandau said in his rough commander's tone.

"Yes, sir?" He sprang to attention.

"… Good."

Dallet blinked. "… Sir?"

"You followed my orders promptly. That was smart of you." Dilandau turned away now, walking swiftly.

"… Thank you, sir." Dallet gave him a quick nod that resembled a bow.

"If anyone needs me, I won't be available. We are awakening the Alseides today… my blood is needed." He said the words in an attempt to make him seem casual about the event, and just as quickly as he stepped in, he stepped out.

Something about the idea of having his blood fed to an ancient machine seemed overwhelming for the albino commander. He stared at the food he retrieved from the dining hall, suddenly feeling as though he had no appetite at all. He threw the food into a nearby trash can, and retreated to his room. Plopping down on his bed, Dilandau waited for Jajuka to tell him when the Sorcerers were ready for him.

He lightly traced a finger over his lip, wondering what Okami could be doing. Dilandau couldn't stay at Dryden's tavern for long, because the Abaharaki would kill him if they found him there. So he left, both Okami and himself wondering when they would see each other again. If at all…

Dilandau quickly dismissed that thought. He would survive fighting the Escaflowne, he had to. His love for Okami couldn't let him die and leave her all alone.

"Dilandau-sama." The commander's door opened at the tall beastman stepped inside. "It's time."

"Alright." Dilandau tried his best to sound bored, but his voice came out in broken syllables. He stood, holding his head high as he walked past Jajuka and out the door.

"Dilandau-sama, Folken-sama sent for you last night, but you were no where to be found." Jajuka pointed out, walking a few paces behind him. "Where did you go last night sir?"

"…Nowhere, Jajuka." Dilandau stated firmly.

Jajuka paused, not believing him for a second. Dilandau gave him a hard stare, a silent warning to Jajuka. In spite of Jajuka's curiousity, he remained quiet.

They entered the monstrous underground cavern, where the Alseides dragon armor loomed eerily before them. Strange men in black cloaks chanted in their strange rhythms, performing the preliminary rites to resurrecting the deadly armor. Dilandau's stomach involuntarily began to twist itself in knots.

"Dilandau-sama." The raspy voice of a Sorcerer broke into his thoughts. "Come this way, we will need your blood to start the Ritual."

Dilandau followed him, wondering why it was that no Sorcerer's face was visible. It was a strange, foreboding feeling, like he couldn't pull any sort of comfort out of this dank cave. Not even another human face.

His shirt was removed, and his blood was taken. Almost as quickly as it had started, Dilandau was pushed to the side, being told he had to wait for a while longer. Frustrated and impatient, he stood near the doorway arms crossed across his bare chest, hoping to just get this over with as soon as possible. Being one of Folken's little pawns wasn't exactly his idea of a thrill.

A hand roughly covered Dilandau's mouth before he could cry out, and he was pulled into the shadows.

"What the hell!" He hissed angrily, wrenching himself away. He immediately froze when he saw who had pulled him aside. It was Okami. Typically, he would have been delighted to see her at a time like this, but the tears cascading down her cheeks in a steady flow made his joy turn to alarm. "Okami?" Worried, he started to frantically brush the tears off her cheeks. "Okami, what's wrong!"

"Dilandau…" Okami closed her eyes, trying to stem the flow of tears. Her words came out in a thick, indiscernible jumble. She trembled uncontrollably, holding back her strangled sobs. "Something's wrong… I'm so scared." She sniffed, barely managing to string her words together. "Something's not right… This is bad."

Dilandau stopped her. "Okami you aren't making any sense!" He cleared away more tears and tried his best to bring her back from whatever chaotic void she had been cast into. "Just breathe, okay?" He kissed her forehead, running his fingers through her hair and uttering calming words. After a few moments, Okami managed to develop a more rational mindset, and she pulled herself away from Dilandau, wiping away the last few tears on her cheeks.

"It's… the Mark." Okami slid her sleeve to her elbow, showing the tattoo on her wrist. "It's burning me. It feels like it's on fire."

Dilandau gently took Okami's forearm, examining the black tattoo. A line of raw, pink flesh surrounded the blackened skin.

Okami hiccoughed. "It hurts so bad. I think I'm losing my mind…" Her broken voice quivered.

"What makes you think that?"

"I… I don't know…" Okami dug her fingers into the roots of her hair. "There's this voice in my head… It… tells me to do things…"

"What kind of things?" Dilandau insisted. He knew he had a reason to be taking this as seriously as he was. Burning marks and hearing voices on the day the Alseides would be resurrected, could only spell disaster.

"…Things…" Okami struggled back her tears again. "… Things that make me angry-"

Dilandau cut her off by grabbing her by the shoulders, adopting a firm tone and boring his gaze directly into her. "Okami listen to me." He said. "Don't listen to it! You can't let yourself give in to your hatred…"

Okami's eyes were round. "Dilandau…"

"Ssh!" Dilandau forestalled her. "Listen… the Alseides is going to be resurrected today… today is the reason you were called to Gaea…"

"WHAT!" Okami shrieked, and Dilandau quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Are you insane!" He whispered sharply. "No one can know that you're here, understand!"

"B-but, Dilandau! You're not planning on piloting that thing!" She bit out, her angry face faltering when Dilandau only stared back with sad eyes. "No…" Okami sputtered. "Dilandau you CAN'T!"

"Okami, how do you even know what the Alseides is?"

Okami scoffed. "I'm the Dark Star, remember? I know everything about the Alseides, and Dilandau if you pilot that thing… it will kill you."

Blinking, Dilandau felt his throat go dry. "I know of the legend Okami. I know the last man to pilot it… died because of it. I know."

"Then why are you doing this! The Alseides has tasted your blood!" She prodded the wound on Dilandau's arm where the Sorcerer drew his blood. "It will have no pilot but you now!"

"I know." Dilandau took Okami by the shoulders. "I know what I've gotten myself into… And I promise I'll get myself out of it alive… have faith in me, Okami."

A squeeze wounded Okami's chest. "I… I _do _have faith in you… but-"

"Then I'll come back." Pulling Okami into a warm embrace, he felt an odd tingling in his stomach. "Okami… I want you to know something… I should have told you a long time ago…" He bit his lip. He had imagined this moment to be a little… different. But some inner voice was telling him that he would regret wasting any more time. "Okami I l-"

A finger pressed his lips shut. Okami held back her tears again. "Tell me…" She said, smiling slightly. "… When you come back to me."

"Dilandau-sama!" Jajuka's voice rang from the cavern as he searched for the missing commander.

Dilandau frowned. "I have to go."

Her eyes froze in her fear, but she managed a rigid nod.

"Hey, look at me." He coaxed her gaze upwards to meet his. "I'm going to make it so you don't have to fight Okami… So you don't have to call Aeopyx, and put yourself in danger."

Okami gave a forced smile. "I know you are. But please be careful."

Dilandau said his goodbye, and retreated back into the chamber. When he tried to cast one final glance at her, she was gone.

"This way, Dilandau-sama." A sorcerer led him to the chamber. "Climb inside."

Dilandau did as he was told, mind running in a million different directions. Mainly, he was hoping that was he was about to do wasn't putting the final nail in Okami's coffin.

"You don't have to do this." Jajuka told his commandant as he stripped off his clothes and began to climb inside.

Dilandau paused before he was secured in place. "I'd do anything… to make sure that the Dark Star never has to draw her sword again…"

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Okami hurried through the dark streets, wondering how it was that she had gotten herself so lost. She could have sworn that Dryden's tavern was around here somewhere. Shivering, she drew her black cloak tightly around herself, smoothing out her black satin dress.

As she continued to wander, unaware of exactly where she was, she picked up a voice she hadn't heard in quite some time. Sure enough, it was Kitsune, going on a walk of her own in a satin dress, but, as usual, the dress was white. She was smiling, chatting rapidly as she laced fingers with none other than Dallet.

So they had finally gotten together… Okami wondered when that happened. She watched Dallet pull Kitsune closer to him as they made way for another couple to pass, and he laughed as Kitsune blushed. They were happy. So undeniably happy –

Okami stiffened. Kitsune's dark eyes had found and locked onto Okami, and for a while they stood like that, both frozen. But then Dallet was asking Kitsune questions, and to Okami's horror, Kitsune lifted her hand, pointed a finger right at Okami, and called out, "It's Okami!"

Her eyes widened in pure terror. Okami knew that it would be the worst idea to fight anyone right now, especially Kitsune. They hadn't faced each other since Kitsune drew her sword. And Okami knew that Kitsune would not hesitate to fight her now. So Okami did the only thing she could think of: she turned tail and ran.

Kitsune blinked rapidly. "Okami? OKAMIIII!" Kitsune wasn't letting her get off that easy. She quickly changed her direction and charged after her, ignoring the various people and even a large wagon that she ran into.

"KITSUNE!" Dallet called out, irritation scratching his voice as he quickly apologized to the enraged people and hurried behind her. "What are you DOING?"

"Come on, we're going after Okami!"

"WHAT?" Dallet cried incredulously, stepping in front of her and gripping her by her arms. "Why? Are you going to fight her?"

"Well I'd prefer not to, actually…"

"Then don't go after her! She is the enemy, now, Kitsune. You know that!" Dallet reasoned with her. "… What?"

Kitsune shot him an annoyed stare. "Fine. Then YOU don't need to follow me."

"What?" Dallet repeated.

"I'll see you later, Dallet!" She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and ran off, and Dallet stared after her with wide eyes.

"… Kitsune, wait!" Dallet continued rushing after her, frustration wrinkling his brow.

Okami found herself trapped in a dead end. "Damn it!" She spun around in hopes of getting out before Kitsune trapped her there, but it was too late, Kitsune stood at the end of the street. A voice was screaming at Okami from within, ordering her to fight. She pulled off her cloak, silencing that voice and turning back to the solid wall blocking her way. Black energy swirled around her and exploded beneath her feet, launching her up and over the wall. She landed agilely on the roof, and continued to run across the rooftops of Torushina.

Kitsune blinked up at Okami as she watched her run. "God, this sucks!" She grumbled as light began to glow from beneath her.

"Kitsune –" Dallet started out, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Ow!" He felt the stab of electricity run through him.

Kitsune gasped and bowed a quick apology. "Sorry! You know better than to touch me when I glow!"

"Shush." Dallet mumbled, his hair literally standing on end.

"Ano… here." She quickly ran her hands down his hair and it smoothed out. "Bye!" And with that she launched herself onto the roof and ran off quickly to catch up with Okami.

Frustrated, Okami tried what she could to lose Kitsune, including a dark ball of energy thrown in her direction, but Kitsune dodged it easily. When Okami began to believe that dueling with Kitsune was utterly inevitable, and searing pain ripped through her forearm. It felt as though someone had pressed a white hot iron to her wrist. Okami wailed in pain, dropping to her knees, clawing at her sleeve as smoke rose from the black satin.

Finally Kitsune had caught up to Okami, and dropped down beside her. "Okami? … Okami-chan, daijoubu?" Kitsune stared with wide eyes at the smoke escaping Okami.

"It's… the god damned mark!" Okami shrieked, tearing off her sleeve, smoke releasing from the reddened flesh around her tattoo. "It's burning me!"

Kitsune's dark eyes widened as she took in the sight of the mark. "Oh my God…"

An explosion erupted before them, suddenly, taking both by surprise as they turned wide, startled eyes up at none other than the Alseides.

"Dilandau…" Okami rushed to the edge of the building, watching as the city of Torushina was engulfed by ripples of flame. More explosions following the first, and Dilandau's insane cackle could be heard from the enormous red armor. The burning in Okami's wrist became weaker as worry flooded her body.

"Dilandau?" Kitsune arched a brow, pointing up the Alseides as it continued to move and people screamed in terror below them. "You mean he's in there?"

Okami could say nothing, so she nodded. She watched as wings erupted from the shoulders of the Alseides, and it took flight.

Dilandau used his new power to rip apart more buildings and people below him. "Come on…" He muttered. "Where are you?" He knew that if he could defeat the Escaflowne when it descended, there would be no need for the Spirit Stars.

Cannon fire knocked the red armor out of the sky.

"Dilandau!" Okami cried out, and she quickly jumped across the rooftops in his direction, watching the Alseides throw it's retaliation in the form of a liquid spear, crushing the Abaharaki Caravan in a single blow. Okami felt suddenly frozen. Her friends were in that caravan, and now they were dead…

Kitsune hurried after Okami, staring down at the remains of the Abaharaki Caravan, then at the horrified look on Okami's face. "… Okami?"

The anger was evident on the Dark Star's face as she observed the broken bodies of her former allies. The angry voice was screeching in her ears. "How… how could he!" She stuttered, blinking back hot tears.

"W-what?" Kitsune stammered. "Okami –" Her words were cut off as her gaze floated up to another giant mechanism before them. It stood, giant and lightly colored, its cape flowing behind it. The Alseides towered over this mighty mass, but Kitsune still stared at it with wide eyes. "The… Escaflowne?"

Okami grabbed Kitsune's hand. "We have to leave!" She towed Kitsune out of the war path between the Alseides and Escaflowne as they began to lock each other in combat.

"Hai!" Kitsune quickly agreed as she ran off with Okami. The two girls swiftly moved off and would only stop once they were a safe distance away. "… I sure hope Dallet isn't in the middle of that…"

"I'm not." Dallet said as he stepped forward. He could not prevent himself from pulling Kitsune against him protectively. Though Okami stood before them, shaking in millions of emotions, he could not trust her. Even if a part of him sympathized, and admired Kitsune's trust in Okami… he would remain on his toes. "And I'm glad that you… both…aren't, either."

Okami stared back at Dallet. It was a pathetic attempt to quell Okami's anger on Dallet's part. The mistrust shone in his eyes and his protective body language. But Okami had different things on her mind…

Dilandau was losing. Despite the Alseides larger bulk, it was still losing to the swifter Escaflowne. Okami ignored the pair sharing her rooftop and rushed to its edge, watching the fight draw to a close as Escaflowne drove its sword into the Alseides again and again.

"Dilandau!" Panic stabbed Okami's heart repeatedly as she watched the Alseides fall, disarmed and helpless to the burning earth.

Kitsune saw the Escaflowne ruthlessly destroying the Alseides. She felt her heart plunge at the sight of it, but she remained completely unaware of the fact that Okami felt that pain ten times over. The Escaflowne mercilessly stepped on the torso of the Alseides, and Kitsune bit her lip in nervousness. She dared to look at Dallet for any signs of confidence, but she found none.

The structure encasing the Alseides' pilot collapsed, the mammoth foot of the Escaflowne sinking in to the hollow cavity. "No!" Okami took off over the rooftops, tearing off in the direction of the Escaflowne, rage clouding her vision. This couldn't be happening. Everyone she cared about couldn't die, all in one day…

**To be continued…**


	12. Chapter 12

Co-Authoress Note: Yeah so… this chapter took forever to finish… Sorry guys! It's mainly my fault, I blame my two jobs. **cry **I hate being so poor. Anyhoo… This story is rapidly coming to a close, maybe only two more chapters to go, and we'll be done! However, the next chapter is REALLY the one to look forward to, but I ain't saying another word! Happy reading! – AmetrineButterfly

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 12

"Oh, no…" Kitsune whimpered between the hands she clamped over her mouth and began to rush after Okami, but Dallet grabbed her, spinning her back toward him. "Dallet, knock it off! I'm not POWERLESS anymore! I can handle this!"

"You're gonna fight that thing?" Dallet spat. "Without thinking it through first? Then you're crazy!"

"Is there TIME to think? Is there?" Kitsune retorted, eyes aflame. "Well? You gonna answer me?"

"Kitsune…"

"What?"

Dallet's gaze was fixed behind her. "Look…"

Kitsune turned to find the Escaflowne's light body going dark, its cape transforming into a mass of long, flowing strips. "… What…?" She whispered in disbelief.

Okami was frozen too, staring at the true nature of the Escaflowne. "Oh no…" This was it. The destiny of the Spirit Stars was now set in motion. Only one hope was left before they would be forced to fight: The Wing Goddess. If she wanted to destroy the world, then that's how it would be, unless Okami and Kitsune could stop it.

Okami continued to move across the rooftops, flying towards the place the Alseides had fallen. She didn't know what she would find. Horror seemed to be paralyzing her system as she could only think of one thing: whether Dilandau was alive or not.

She soared over the final roof, and landed smoothly on the street. The mangled Alseides armor lay before her. Climbing up, she tried to ignore her heart pounding in her ears. She found the cockpit open, and Dilandau, nor his corpse, was inside.

"Okami…"

She spun to find him, unscathed and shirtless, on the ground below her. He stared up at her with hopeless, completely lost looking eyes. "Dilandau!" Jumping down, she wrapped him in the clingiest hug known to man, thankful that he was alive and in her arms again.

"Okami… I failed you…" His broken voice was muffled by her neck. "I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be." She insisted. "You tried… I couldn't ask for more."

Explosions of blue light made Dilandau pull Okami protectively to his chest, both gazing wide-eyed and fearful as the dark Escaflowne began to rip apart Torushina. Soon they heard the hurried, approaching footsteps of Kitsune. "… We're gonna have to fight it…" She said after a long pause. "… aren't we…?" She asked Okami. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

Okami shook her head. "You know the answer to that. We're the last resort… it's all up to the Wing Goddess now…" A moment of silence extended.

They watched as the short-haired Earthling girl referred to as the Wing Goddess ran up to the darkened Escaflowne and called up to it. They waited. They waited with baited breath until finally… the Escaflowne became light once more. The Escaflowne's body then morphed, transforming into a giant, light colored dragon. And just like that, the Escaflowne flew off.

"... We've gotta follow." Kitsune murmured quietly.

"Right. Let's go." Squeezing Dilandau's hand and giving him a reassuring smile, Okami stood freely and her dark aura wrapped around her, her feet lifting off the ground as she gained altitude, soaring after the dragon.

Kitsune observed the squeezing of his hand and the smile, and almost cracked a smile of her own. Almost.

"What the hell are you lookin' at me for? You've got somewhere to go! Go!" Dilandau snapped sharply.

"Hai!" Kitsune nodded quickly and flew off, speeding up to Okami.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Okami soon stood on the darkened rooftops of Torushina, staring out with a churning gut at the new assault on Gaea. The pilot of the Escaflowne was no longer Van… but his crazed brother Folken. The events leading up to this moment began to replay in her mind, images of Folken defeating Van as Kitsune, Okami and Hitomi could do nothing but watch. Folken then donned the Escaflowne and it returned to its dark form.

This was it… the Spirit Stars were now Gaea's last hope.

Kitsune was soon by Okami's side, mouth open as though ready to say something, but there were no words she could possibly express at this moment in time. There it was…Okami had been right all along. Folken was no good. Until now, Kitsune had never really considered the idea of Folken being the bad one in this mess. While he had always intimidated her with his cold, bicolored eyes, she had dismissed it as general fear of the man in power, not fear of the evil man. And now here she was wishing she'd heeded Okami's warning. If she had, would they have been able to stop what was happening before them?

Okami knew what Kitsune was thinking. "It's alright." She said. "You had no way of knowing…" A distant sadness rung in her voice, as if she was staring at her own poison cup, ready to take it in.

"But maybe we could've done something…!" Kitsune said softly, and then shook her head. "I guess it doesn't matter anymore… We can't rewind time."

Okami watched the Escaflowne as it ripped apart another building. "… We have to stop him…"

"Hai!" Kitsune gave a swift decisive nod. "Let's go…! We didn't stop him before but we can stop him now, right?" Okami watched her bring out before her a fan, made of white lace. She knew that with it, Kitsune would summon her Spirit, known by legend as Daedalion. Kitsune flipped it open with a sharp snap, her other hand poised on the hilt of her sword. She held in her dark eyes the look of warrioress ready for battle… so strange to behold, because the last time Kitsune had been in this situation, Kitsune had been too scared of the very sheath of a sword to touch it.

Okami felt the dread building inside of her like a coming storm. The tattoo on her wrist began to throb again, torturing her both physically and emotionally. She placed a hand on her forehead, a pained look on her face. She pulled out her own fan, a fan of black iron and dark purple accents of fire. Something was holding her back, and she knew that it was fear of the unknown. What if her Spirit, Aeopyx, possessed her like he did the Black Guardian? She glanced at Kitsune. What if it was her hands that took the life of Kitsune? Against her own free will? "I can't do this…" She breathed out.

The words took Kitsune by surprise. Her grip on her fan loosened and it began to close as it slipped. "… What?" Kitsune laughed, but it held no mirth. "You're not serious! You know this is what we're for! Come on. We have a fight to win…!" She spoke boldly, hoping the words would fuel Okami with some courage.

But Okami's fear showed in her face. She gripped the closed fan in her white-knuckled fist. Her tattoo was scorching her wrist, yet she ignored it, far too paralyzed in her apprehension to care. "You can defeat him…" Okami whispered. "But I can't fight, Kitsune. I just… can't do it…"

"Okami-chan…" Kitsune frowned thoughtfully. She eyed Okami's tattooed wrist, nearly glowing red by now. "You're afraid of the myth…" Kitsune didn't need Okami to say anything. She offered the frightened girl a comforting, confident smile. "… It's okay." And with that she brought her fan before her again. "I'LL TAKE CARE OF IT! YOU HANG TIGHT!"

Kitsune held the fan spread open before her, closing her eyes in concentration as she waved it before her in a complicated pattern, opened and closed, moving gracefully side to side. To finish off the summoning she pointed the lacy fan, now closed up above her, and there was a great flash of light. It was so bright, Okami had to shut her eyes at first, and when she dared to open them, Kitsune's satin dress had turned into white, flowing robes. The under robe shimmered like the satin of her dress but over it there was a gossamer over robe that glittered iridescent, pearly colors, blending into pink as the fabric flowed to the floor. Above her was her Spirit, the legendary Daedalion, a pearly-colored, giant horse with a great curved horn of crystal and enormous, white wings reminiscent of a bat.

Kitsune held the fan over her mouth, concealing her proud smile. "Go, Daedalion. Show Lord Folken what happens when you lie to a Spirit Star."

The great Spirit obeyed the Light Star, immediately going after the Escaflowne on wings that crackled with lightning. It made for a brilliant display of light versus metal as the forces clashed, but suddenly, far too quickly, the Escaflowne managed to strike Daedalion to the ground. The Spirit screamed as it fell, and Okami watched as Kitsune suddenly collapsed to her knees. "Kitsune..!" She called out, but the Light Star held out a hand to silence her, looking over her shoulder with smiling eyes. Kitsune kept her quivering mouth covered with her lacy fan.

"DAEDALION!" Kitsune screamed. "THAT IS THE MAN WHO WILL RUIN OUR LAND! … WILL YOU ACCEPT THIS?"

The Spirit gave out a loud yell as it struggled to its feet.

"FIGHT HIM! HE IS A TRAITOR TO GAEA! KILL HIM!" Kitsune commanded. The Spirit she summoned flew at the Escaflowne once more, determined to keep fighting the enemy, and yet, once again, Daedalion could not last long. Daedalion managed to cripple one of the Escaflowne's arms before falling again. This time, Kitsune collapsed onto her hands and knees. "Fall back, fall back!" She commanded, and the giant pegasus came to her, falling by her side. "You fought well, you did. It's not over yet." She said softly to her Spirit, glaring at the Escaflowne as it approached her. "OKAMI!" Kitsune gave her an urgent look. "It won't work…! I can't do this without you!" She held up her fan, motioning for Okami to do the same. "Summon your Spirit…!"

"I CAN'T!" Okami stumbled backwards, clutching her fan to her chest.

"Okami-chan if you don't, Gaea is lost!"

Tears trickled down Okami's pale cheeks. Her grip on the fan loosened. Kitsune was right, Okami would have to take the risk, or else Gaea would truly be lost forever. She looked down upon the crowd that was building below them, among the crowd she picked out Dilandau's face. The people were counting on her, and for their lives she would risk her soul. For she had no real choice…

She set her jaw in determination, spreading her iron fan with a musical ring. "Kitsune…" She said. "I apologize… should the worst happen…"

Kitsune smirked and came to a stand. "Save your apologies for later… Summon Aeopyx!"

Okami's dark aura made a reappearance around her stiff frame. She poised her fan before her, breathing steadily. Her clothing changed into a black flowing dress, adorned with a black gossamer robe, lined in dark purple. She pointed her fan to the sky, her hair billowing around her. A streak of dark energy shot into the air, forming a large orb above the city. Out of the orb, a great black bird of energy and black fire erupted, screeching a haunting note and fluttering its enormous wings. Closing her fan and dropping to a crouch, Okami glared at the Escaflowne, pointing her fan straight at it. "GO!" She yelled to Aeopyx. "Make him SUFFER for destroying your lands!"

Following it's orders, the great phoenix tucked in its wings and streaked towards the Escaflowne, broad siding it and knocking it to the ground. "Don't just stand there, Kitsune!" Okami shouted. "GO!"

"Hai!" Kitsune replied, waving her fan at Daedalion in a wide sweeping motion towards the Escaflowne. "Fight, Daedalion! You and Aeopyx will make Lord Folken PAY! KILL HIM!" She grinned confidently behind her fan as Daedalion joined Aeopyx in the battle against the Escaflowne.

It was a magnificent display. If it weren't a battle, spectators would have wondered what Torushina was celebrating. Bands and beams of lightning and black fire were encircling and piercing the Escaflowne. Suddenly, the Escaflowne, and its pilot, weren't so mighty and fearsome anymore. For the Spirits truly worked best as a team. Alone they could inflict damage, but to achieve their highest potential, Aeopyx and Daedalion relied on one another. And now here they were, guided by their masters, destroying the Escaflowne's tough shell of a body. Okami stared on with Kitsune, who was making wild motions with her fan, urging them on. At last, Aeopyx's dark energy tripped and bound the Escaflowne to the ground as Daedalion's lightning struck at it repeatedly, mercilessly. A tall, dark body was seen crawling from the useless form of the Escaflowne, and both Okami and Kitsune pointed to the body with their fans. "THERE IS THE TRAITOR!" Kitsune cried angrily. "DESTROY HIM!"

With this, Lord Folken's body was both electrocuted and burned. The last thing Folken saw, before he met his end, was the angry, piercing eyes of Okami and Kitsune, as they pointed with their fans, coldly saying, "We will never forgive you."

… That was it. Lord Folken and the Escaflowne were no more! Kitsune began to fan herself off, sighing in relief. "… It's done… It's done, Okami-chan!" She smiled and laughed.

Below them the citizens of Torushina had begun celebrating the end of this war. The cheers and laughter reached the ears of the Dark and Light Star, and Kitsune embraced the joy with laughter of her own.

"Kitsune…!" The Light Star turned and rushed into Dallet's arms, her pale robes flowing about as he lifted and spun her. "I am so proud of you…" He murmured to her, and without warning he crushed her against him in an urgent kiss, for all the Torushina citizens below them to see. There was laughter, cheering, gawking, and whistling. Everything that let off the feeling of a happy celebration of victory.

… But Okami was not a part of this merriment. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears, all she could take in was its deafening rhythm. A panic with an unknown source seized her insides and her breath quickened. Something was happening to her, she could feel it. And she didn't like it.

Dilandau saw the state Okami was in, and rushed to her. But he never made it before it was too late.

Okami opened her eyes, to find that time was frozen. She observed Kitsune and Dallet locked in a loving embrace, Dilandau suspended in mid-sprint, a worried expression plastered across his pale features.

"What…?" Okami frantically looked around, wondering what the heck was going on. Then she saw a woman with long, black hair, pale skin and dark eyes, staring straight at her. She was different from the others, for she leaned against the shoulder of Dallet, a smile creeping across her ominous features.

"So we finally meet, Okami." She said, her voice echoing and demonic.

"Who… who are you?" Okami stumbled backwards away from the woman.

Her smile curved wickedly. "You know, as my successor, you really shouldn't act so naïve."

"You're the Black Guardian." Okami said, not liking how her angry voice shook. "Leave me alone! I want nothing to do with you!"

"Pity…" A note of sarcasm rang in her frightening voice, and her eyes flashed. "It's a misfortune… you having no choice in this matter." Again, her voice was like chilled steel, binding Okami to the spot.

A fist seemed to grip Okami's heart as she continued to back away from this foreboding woman.

"You act like I'm your enemy, my Okami-chan…" The Black Guardian's tone adopted a motherly tenor, similar to a tone of poisoned honey. "I'm your friend, I'm only trying to help you get back at those who have hurt you!"

"You can't fool me with your tricks and lies!" Okami bellowed. "I won't listen to you!"

"MY tricks and lies? Okami…" She placed a hand across her own heart, a pained expression contorting her pale features. "It's not I who points and stares at you because you're of mixed blood… It is not I who made you believe I was so great, but slept with whores when your mother was away."

"STOP IT!" Okami shrieked. "DON'T talk about my father that way, you BITCH!"

"Such denial, Okami-chan… especially because you know that what I say is true."

The painful memories of her father flooded Okami's mind like poison. "Stop it…" She whispered. Her father was a good man, her father loved her with every last breath in his body…

"Yet he betrayed your mother… he wasn't the saint you thought, and that cut you to the bone, didn't it, cherub?"

Okami couldn't hold back her tears anymore. It was all true, her father was the one man she had always trusted, had always looked up to. But in the end, he was nothing but scum. The day she realized was the day her world fell apart. "Stop it." She repeated. "I know what you're trying to do."

"And what am I trying to do?" The Black guardian said, amused.

"You're taking advantage of my abhorrence… That's why you chose me to be your successor, so you could use me."

"No, Okami. I chose you because I wanted to help you. How often do you look at the world around you and decide that it would be so much better… if it all just disappeared?"

"That's not true. There are beautiful things, too…"

"Like what?"

"Like Kitsune!" Okami cried. "She's pure-blooded Japanese! And she befriended me, regardless of my race!"

"And yet she was the one who turned her back on you as soon as a fresh male scent came her way… She never cared about you, Okami, and you know it."

"That's not true…"

"Stop lying to yourself. She dismissed you as soon as you insisted that the Stars' path lead away from the Black Dragon Clan… and away from Dallet. She would sooner abandon you, for a new boyfriend. That's not true friendship, Okami."

Okami fumbled. "What about Dilandau! He cares about me! THAT'S beautiful!"

"He cares for you, and yet he deliberately destroyed the ones you call your friends and allies… right before your eyes? He killed them for the sole purpose of quenching his thirst for petty revenge. And yet you still believe he cares for you?"

Okami's voice merely caught in her throat.

A slight, triumphant smirk played across the Guardian's pale lips.

But Okami caught on. "NO!" She shrieked. "I will NOT be your puppet! No matter what kind of lies you feed me! I KNOW that life is worth living, REGARDLESS of the pain! And I WON'T let you destroy it!"

An anger unlike Okami had ever seen spread across the Black Guardian. It consumed her, changed her beautiful face into something ugly, and grotesque. "YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME! I DON'T NEED YOUR PERMISSION TO GET WHAT I WANT!" In a flash, her body disappeared, and changed into a shrieking, dark phoenix of fire and dark energy. It flew at Okami, eyes ablaze.

Okami screamed, a helpless scream that none suspended in time could hear as the flames and energy consumed her, changed her.

Time began again. Dallet continued to spin Kitsune in their moment of love struck glory, Dilandau skid to a halt, staring with wide, frightened eyes at the morphed frame of Okami.

The young woman's feet hovered above the ground, her blonde hair billowed around her, her face was set in a triumphant, evil smirk. On her body, hung cloth-like armor of black and purple, in her hand, a sword adorned with red rubies wrought in black metal. Sprouting from her back was a set of thick, smoky wings of the phoenix. And her eyes, glowing in a blood-lust and thirst for destruction. They met Dilandau's.

"I'm ba-ack…" She uttered in a sing-song voice. She threw back her head and a wicked, cold laughter erupted from her throat, in a voice that sounded nothing like the true Okami. The building beneath her floating feet cracked, and crumbled.

People were screaming as the sky darkened, buildings collapsed, the streets ripped apart.

"What's happening!" Kitsune cried as Dallet threw them both to the ground, using his body as a shield to protect her from falling debris.

Dilandau flung himself down beside them, covering his head as the debris showered them. He lifted himself on one elbow, his pink eyes boring directly into Kitsune's. "… The end of Gaea…"

To be continued… 


	13. Chapter 13

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 13

Kitsune didn't want to believe that what Dilandau was saying was true, and yet she knew that it was so. The Black Guardian had possessed Okami's body and was now using her like a flesh puppet to finish what she had begun.

"This fight isn't over yet… Hurry! You're the only one who can stop her!" Dilandau urged her to fight.

Kitsune let the words fill her. It was too true… she was the only one who stood a chance. She felt the weight of fingers lacing with her own, and she locked eyes with Dallet. She immediately hated that look on his face… so full of fear for her and longing to keep her back… She hated that she had no choice in the matter, and she stood, finding it hard to look him in the eye. She didn't have to do so in order to know what he was thinking…

'Please don't get hurt…'

She couldn't promise him anything, and that was the worst part about it. Then she looked at Dilandau and read into the torn look on his face… wanting the Black Guardian's rampage stopped… but wanting Okami safe. Could Kitsune possibly succeed in getting rid of the Black Guardian and keeping Okami alive?

… Would it be safe to try?

She gave the two men before her a confirmatory nod and began to approach the Black Guardian temporarily posing as Okami. With each step – or hop or scramble, depending on what mess was suddenly thrown in her way due to the general chaos – the fear inside her grew and grew… She didn't even really know how to fight her…! All she had right now was a sword and a fan…! And a weak, lacy fan, at that. Good for summoning up her Spirit, but would summoning her Spirit be enough? She'd have to try. All she could do was try something, ANYTHING.

She heard the shifting of debris behind her and saw that Dallet was being foolhardy enough to follow her. She held out her hand to stop him. "Don't."

Kitsune watched him stop in his tracks and give her that same worried stare. Offering him a small smile and shake of her head, she told him, "Stay, puppy." She couldn't resist the joke, and at that point in time, they both really needed it. He was worrying himself half to death, and nothing major had even happened yet…!

Dallet frowned at her, but obeyed, progressing no further. The annoyed look left his face, however, as the Black Guardian suddenly turned her heartless grin towards Kitsune and began to go after her.

Kitsune was quick to summon her Spirit, but before she could send Daedalion after the Black Guardian, she was blinding by an outstanding white light, full of warmth.

"I am afraid it does not work that way, Kitsune."

Kitsune couldn't see who was talking to her just yet, but the voice sounded calm, motherly. She squinted her eyes in an attempt to make out a form in front of her.

"Your eyes will adjust, dear. Don't force it." The voice continued. "I have stopped time for now, but only to explain what you ought to do…"

"… Who are you…?"

The voice laughed. "Why, I am the White Guardian… The previous Light Star."

"Why are you here?"

"Wherever Daedalion goes, I go… for we are one, now… That is the fate of all Light Stars, once they pass on. But I did not appear for idle chit chat. Kitsune, there is only one way to defeat the Black Guardian, and it is not by sending Daedalion to do the work for you… You must defeat the Black Guardian with your own hands."

Kitsune blinked rapidly. "W-what? I… I can't…! That is Okami's body…! Okami's still in there…!"

"I know, child…" The figure before her was becoming clearer. "And Okami's soul is so kind at heart… but she is a hurt girl, and hurt girls are easily manipulated. I am afraid that there is no other option… You must sacrifice her soul to save Gaea."

Kitsune let the words wash over her and make her ill. "… Not… not true! There HAS to be some other way…!"

"There is none. How do you think I passed on? I sent Daedalion after her, and it was not enough… Daedalion went out, and took all of my life energy, too." The figure stepped forth, and Kitsune was amazed to see that the previous Light Star looked a great deal like her. She was expecting someone taller, more graceful, and most of all: LIGHTER.

"Were you expecting someone who would live up to her title?" The White Guardian smiled. "I am, indeed, your elder, through blood and through title. The people chosen for the position aren't usually blood-related… but I decided to deviate from the norm. For you have a pure soul, Kitsune… A pure soul who needed so desperately to face an ordeal like this."

Kitsune looked up into the face of the White Guardian with wide, worried eyes. "… You WANTED me in this position?"

"Not this exact position. But you needed a chance to break out from your small world… it was keeping you caged into a life you did not need to lead. That… and you needed to meet the sort of man who would treat you right." The White Guardian smiled at her in a motherly manner. "… Oh, and I said I would not give you idle chit chat! Kitsune, you must do this yourself. You have a sword, after all… And Daedalion will not be able to do it…"

"If Daedalion can't, what makes you think I can? What makes you think your theory about why you lost is true?"

"Because together, the Light and the Dark Star are purely indestructible. And once they turn against each other… the only thing that can stop them IS each other. Not the Spirit you summon, dear… You."

"I… I…" Kitsune couldn't swallow the words or push any of her own out of her mouth. "… I can't…! I don't want to kill Okami…! I wouldn't be able to live with myself…!"

"Kitsune…" The White Guardian's motherly tone seemed to grow tired. "Heed the word of your elder, child! This is a necessary step! Don't make me-"

"Make you do what? What are YOU going to do? I can't, and I won't, kill Okami! She is… She is the only TRUE friend I have! Asking me to kill her is too HEARTLESS of y…"

The world became too bright again, and soon Kitsune couldn't speak… and then she wasn't even Kitsune, anymore. Her flowing robes had changed into the mirror-image of the cloth-like armor on the Okami's frame, done up in the milky shades of white, and her sword transformed, as well. It became noticeably sturdier, though it retained the same samurai blade, and the formerly pearly handle was now shining silver, accented in diamond jewels. Two wings spread widely behind her, so bright it nearly blinded Dallet for a while. He had to blink a couple times to notice that her wings were, indeed, shaped like a bat's. "… K… Kitsune?" Dallet called out, and yet he knew that this was no longer Kitsune before him.

The possessed Kitsune looked down at her garments before looking back up at Okami and murmuring to herself, "I'm sorry, dear… You were being so stubborn…"

A swell of dark energy pushed the White Guardian off of her feet. "I knew you would show up, Kagami. Here to lecture me again?" The cloth of her armor billowed as the Black Guardian's boots touched the ground. She walked towards her with a devilish smirk on her stolen features.

"… I'm going to ignore your question, Kaiya… Stop this. You KNOW it isn't right." The White Guardian known as Kagami tried to speak calmly, rationally, as the Black Guardian's footsteps brought the two closer together.

"Hold your tongue. What right have you to tell me what's right?" Gripping her sword with white knuckles, the Black Guardian, Kaiya, brandished her weapon and glared. "Let your sword do your talking, Kagami. Fight me, make our parents weep, sister!"

Kagami's eyes narrowed. "How dare you wish for our parents' sadness, little sister…! You know that I do not want to fight you. And neither would they! Stop this madness, little sister. What do you have against this world?"

Kaiya's answer was in the form of an assault. She tried to bring her sword down on the head of her older sister, but Kagami expertly blocked and spun out of the way, dodging a wave of deadly energy. The ball of black fire hurled past Kagami and struck yet another occupied building. It fell apart, killing its screaming inhabitants.

Dilandau scrambled out of way as falling debris struck all around him. He watched with sadness in his eyes at the woman he loved so much, her beautiful face contorted by such anger and blood-lust. He knew that it really wasn't Okami controlling that shell, that the Okami he knew was lost somewhere deep inside of a prison created by the Black Guardian. Knowing that he couldn't reach her, and couldn't help her, tore him up inside.

He saw Dallet once again making his way through the debris towards the two battling Guardians. "Dallet!" Dilandau yelled, and pulled an unwilling Dallet back and out of danger.

"Dilandau-sama! Let me go!"

"Dallet, shut the fuck up!" Dilandau barked in his true commander-fashion. "You are to stay away from the falling debris, and that's an ORDER, understand!"

"B-but-"

"I said SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

The stress in the commander's voice and actions was all too evident, so Dallet reluctantly followed his commander along with a line of fleeing citizens. He could hear what sounded somewhat like Kitsune's voice yelling, though he could not fully make out the words. He wished that he was able to understand just what Kitsune was s- Well, it didn't seem quite like Kitsune, anymore. Her voice flowed with a lower, more womanly tone to it, as though she had suddenly matured a great deal. She sounded almost otherworldly…

Kagami had finally had enough and held up her sword menacingly, as though she were preparing for an attack. "KAIYA! This WILL stop!" She cried angrily. "Wait!" She suddenly yelled with the heavy tones of fear dripping from her voice, and Kagami froze.

"… Stop it… stay back…" She spoke harshly and under her breath.

The crimson lips of the Black Guardian curled into a lazy smirk. She was panting slightly from the ensuing fight, but her face was bright, like her greatest dream was finally coming true. Balancing her weight on one hip, Kaiya laughed her sickening laugh and tossed Okami's flaxen hair. "Can't keep your Star under control, Kagami? You should give MY methods a try." She tapped Okami's temple. "Make her own mind her prison, works every time."

"Never. Those methods are sick and wrong. If you must possess a person you should at least give that person some sense of freedom! You've already taken over their body. Why take over their spirit?"

"You have me there, big sister. Okami wasn't being a good enough puppet, so I took matters into my own hands."

"….What? What do you mean?" Kagami asked suspiciously, still holding her sword in a protective stance.

"Don't pretend like you don't know. Our fuel is the emotions of the ones we choose to follow us. I chose Okami because her emotions are easily… manipulated… She's so consumed by her hatred for this world… It's delicious. The perfect device for destruction, like an indestructible flame. But despite all her anger, Okami does have the capacity to forgive." The malicious grin faded to a disappointed frown. "That's where I made my mistake. But my mistakes are easily rectified. We already are a part of them, I just took it a step further. Get it now?"

As the Black Guardian spoke cruelly, Kitsune's tears began to run down what was temporarily Kagami's face. "… That's pure evil… Let me fight her… But, Okami is… This must be done!" And so, even as Kitsune's tears dripped off Kagami's face, the White Guardian flew at the Black Guardian with her sword slashing the air.

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Okami had no idea where she was. All she felt was the cold steel of the shackles binding her wrists and neck. All she could see was an endless stretch of white, and the chains binding her vanishing into the white void. She knew what was happening, and it made her sick. She knew how to stop it, and that only made it worse. But it had to be done.

A form appeared in front of her, a dazed and confused girl peering frantically around her. "Kitsune…" Okami said, her voice cracking.

Kitsune madly swiped at the tears raining down her. By now, she was angry and SICK of fighting. She didn't want to do this… not with Okami. It didn't matter if it was the Black Guardian at this time, somewhere inside that body Kagami's sword was striking was the spirit of Okami… a RELATIVE of hers! She could never strike a family member… She would never want to strike Okami!

But now the fighting was over! At least, she wasn't watching her sword cut the air. "… Oh God… what the fuck, now?" She muttered miserably.

"I don't know where we are Kitsune… all I know is that it's the Black Guardian keeping me here… As freaky as that is, it's not the point. Kitsune I don't have much time… I need to ask a favor of you."

Kitsune's watery eyes blinked rapidly as she rushed to Okami, dropping to her knees. "Oh my God, Okami-chan…! What happened here…?" She asked with confusion wrinkling her brow. She shook it off. "I… I need to get you out of here!" Kitsune gripped the chains that bound Okami. "We're gonna go home…"

Frowning, and with hopeless tears rimming her eyes, Okami gently took Kitsune's hands. "It's too late, Kitsune… It's too late." A deep helplessness resonated in Okami's hazel eyes. "Kitsune you HAVE to kill me."

Kitsune blinked. She simply could not register those words. "… Nani? No… Come on… we're going home…" She continued fiddling with the chains. "We're gonna go home… 'cause this isn't real, anymore…" She sniffled.

"Isn't real? _Isn't real_? Kitsune how can you say that? Are you crazy? You know that this is how it has to be. Which do you prefer? Me to destroy all of Gaea and die anyway?" Okami sighed. "I'm lost Kitsune, no matter what happens I'm going to die anyway. Just get it over with before my body destroys any more lives!"

Kitsune threw the chains down in anguish. "I CAN'T! You are asking me to kill my true friend! I can't do that!"

"Yes you can! You HAVE to! There IS no other way!" Okami gasped, falling forward like someone was smothering her.

"Okami-chan!"

"There's not much time… She knows you're here. Listen to me. I don't have much strength left, but I have enough to take back control of my body for a short time. Do it then, Kitsune."

Kitsune couldn't utter her weak reply before she found herself back in Torushina, holding her sword above Okami, frozen, as Okami stared back with wide eyes.

The people below them murmured in confusion, a split second ago they had been going at each other, then they suddenly froze, both with that shocked look on their faces.

"Do it, Kitsune…" Okami whispered, and let her sword drop to the ground with a clatter, standing straight with her arms slightly spread, her chest wide open, her eyes pleading.

Kitsune's sword was shaking in her hand… she couldn't believe that this had to be the only way… she didn't want to believe it. She tried to vocalize her rejection just one more time, but the only thing that would leave her lips was air. She could only shake her head and blink back her tears, and drop her sword as well, leaving only her short, silver dagger.

Okami's jaw set. "Fine." Her voice was low, determined. "Then I'll have to persuade you the hard way." Raising her arms, a ball of black fire swelled between her palms, her eyes darted to the left, at the foolish man steadily making his way towards them…

"Dallet, yamatte…!" Kitsune's call did nothing to prevent the flames that struck the irrational and foolhardy soldier down to the ground. "NO!" She cried and rushed toward him. "Oh my God… Dallet…! Dallet, get up… onegai…" Her voice grew strained as a whole new march of tears tracked down her face.

Meanwhile, inches away, Dallet felt miles away, and that the distance was growing stronger as the seering pain of dark fire burned down into his shoulder, reaching its way into his chest. His ears picked up the slurred Japanese words of Kitsune's, but he could pick out bits and pieces of things she had taught him, "…not happening… get up… onegai… open your eyes…!"

His eyes weren't open? He thought he could see blurry spots, though…

"Onegai…! Dallet…!" Her voice was cracking on a sob, and it broke his heart. He struggled to perform the difficult task of opening his dark eyes, and he realized that they were indeed closed. As they slid open just slightly he could make out some shapes… a curtain of ebon hair slipped over a tan circle of a face, the strands softly passing over his left cheek. "This isn't real, that's not real…! Please get up…!" It felt very real… this pain running through him like poison… a tear landed on the fresh wound and stung like the beating of his aching heart. It made him draw a breath, though a shallow one.

"No…" He muttered weakly. It felt a lot like he was dying… No! He couldn't die! He couldn't go out like this… If his life had been without this girl from the Mystic Moon… well, sure. Fine. That's what he gets for being such a fool. But it's funny what happens… when a soldier falls in love. Even a soldier could become a grade-A idiot, if he was that madly in love. … And Dallet was. "… I can't go out…"

"Dallet…!" Kitsune cried in a choked up whisper. She watched as, of all things, a smile crossed his face, but it was a bitter smile, a sad smile.

He was laughing in this bitter moment. "This is… a bit unfair… I can't go out without telling you… how much I love you…"

Kitsune attempted to blink back tears but all they continued to roll. "You're not going out… Oh, no, no, Dallet, open your eyes…!"

He couldn't. He wanted to. He needed to see that cute face of hers, even if it was blurred, just one last time… And he couldn't open his eyes! Unfair. Truly unfair. So he drew as deep a breath as he could muster, and smiled that signature smile of his… that smile that made Kitsune feel better about life… and said, "I love Kitsune… Kitsune the Light Star… the girl who always blushes and bows…"

And then Dallet could say no more.

And Kitsune could only stare at the gaping wound that started from his shoulder and traveled inward to his chest, and that suddenly peaceful, calm soldier-face of Dallet's. "… Doushite…?" She whispered brokenly. "… Dallet… doushite…?" She stood with an iron grip on her silver dagger, and glared up with a newfound hatred for the woman floating before her. What made it all worse was that Kitsune knew that this was not the Black Guardian's doing. It was purely an action on Okami's part! Was she so heartless? "… DOUSHITE?" She screamed angrily and went after her, slashing with her dagger, and for a moment, Okami was blocking defensively. "I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DIE! YOU FUCKING BITCH! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" Kitsune cried and lifted her dagger once more, and noted the look deep within Okami's eyes. She was lonely looking and scared, yet she seemed to be steeling herself for Kitsune's next blow.

It reminded Kitsune of Okami back when none of this was real to either of them. When their lives consisted of volleyball and painting. When the Mystic Moon was Earth, and wasn't mystical at all.

It made her falter. Suddenly that anger within her was gone and replaced with a sharp pang of sadness. She didn't want this. She wanted so bad to just stop and go home… because as of right now, all Gaea had given her was heartbreak… "… Why is this happening…?" She asked no one in particular, the grip on her dagger loosening just a bit.

Kitsune's heart suddenly froze inside her chest as the next horrible, yet crucial event befell her. It seemed so slow to her and yet she could not prevent Okami's hand snatching at her own, and she could not stop the blade of her dagger being forced into Okami's chest.

Both girls' eyes widened, Okami's out of pain, Kitsune's out of shock. Kitsune pulled away, leaving the dagger in Okami's heart. Okami's hand still clutched the handle. "… Okami…" Kitsune said, just above a whisper, and watched Okami fall.

There was loud and mighty cry that rose around Kitsune, who was still locked in her own world, apart from everyone, filled with anguish. She vaguely heard the cheers, celebrating the death of the Dark Star. To them, that was all Okami was. But Kitsune knew the girl behind the title. Okami was dead. Okami was dead! And they smiled!

"ENOUGH!" Kitsune cried angrily, her arms swinging out violently to silence the ignorant crowd. "HOW DARE YOU CELEBRATE THE DEATH OF A HERO? YOU SEE AN EVIL WOMAN, BUT I KNEW THE GIRL UNDERNEATH ALL OF THAT! SHE WAS BRAVER THAN I… NEVER BE HAPPY FOR THE DEATH OF A WOMAN AS BRAVE AS SHE WAS!"

That was all Kitsune needed to say to make the crowds below her stop their celebrating. They stood looking up at her with wide, cautious eyes, and Kitsune opened her mouth to say more, but a hand clamped onto her shoulder prevented her from further unleashing her pain and directing it at them.

"You don't need to say anything else." Dilandau's voice was uncommonly quiet as he spoke to Kitsune. Her arms fell down to her sides and she blinked aside the tears that rolled down her face. "… Dallet is still breathing." Dilandau said softly, knowing that it might offer some small piece of happiness for Kitsune.

"… Nani…?" Kitsune said weakly, looking over her shoulder at him, and then looking at Dallet. She could see him struggling to take breaths as Gatti and Shesta went to take him away.

"… Go." Dilandau said quietly, and Kitsune left, still crying, rushing after Dallet.

As the crowd gently dispersed below them, and the grief-stricken cries of families mourning their dead rose into the night sky, Dilandau stood stock still. His face was blank, yet an array of painful emotions created a storm inside of him. He didn't want to look, he couldn't find it in himself to look. Looking down at Okami's dead body would only solidify the pain in his heart.

He had to look though, he had to live in reality for once. So he did.

His gut immediately twisted at the sight of her just laying there, her curly blonde hair spread out gracefully around her. Dilandau squeezed his eyes shut, fighting the tears as they welled up in his eyes. Dropping softly to his knees beside her, he brushed some stray hair away from her face, staring down at her eyes as they remained softly open, staring away into a place Dilandau couldn't see.

She was the only woman Dilandau ever wanted to have by his side… forever. And yet, her destiny had cut their time together short. "Okami…" He whispered, his voice shaking. "… you stubborn bitch…" She seemed to weigh nothing as he pulled her still frame into his arms, clutching her close to him. "God… how could you leave me like this…" He wanted to hate her. He wanted nothing more then to hate her now. Hate her because he had let himself fall in love her. Hate her because she was kind to him. Hate her because… she was gone now. He didn't care who saw him, he didn't care who heard. He didn't care about his reputation anymore, he didn't care about the Black Dragon Clan, he didn't care about war…

He cried, holding her close to him, until every last tear was gone.

**To be continued… **


	14. Chapter 14

Wow, sorry about the long wait guys, i've been working so much i want to DIE!. Well anyway, here's chapters13 and 14. Hope you enjoy!

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 14

It felt like slow torturous hours were slipping by as Kitsune fought to blink back tears and deftly clean Dallet's wound. She had to do quite a bit of pressing to get various doctors to let her take care of him… it took proving her skill by cleaning and dressing another soldier's wound, first. At last they let her in and she immediately set to work, watching Dallet struggle to breathe. "Yamatte… Rest for now… Don't push it…" she kept murmuring to him, until he finally slipped away into slumber.

Kitsune tried stitching the skin back together but the thread was cheap and fragile, and she didn't trust it for a second, so after doing the best she could, she took out the soft, white gauze and bandages and wrapped it up.

At last she was done. Dallet was looking awfully pale due to the lack of blood, but she knew that after plenty of rest he would be fine.

"Kitsune?"

Her head shifted only slightly toward Gatti's voice.

"Okami's funeral takes place tomorrow evening. I knew you would want to know…"

"… Thank you." She tried to say as calmly as possible, but her voice still cracked under tears.

"… I'd imagine you want time alone… Is Dallet doing okay?"

"… He should be."

"Okay, then…" Gatti left.

And Kitsune gently laid her head on his chest, listening to the steady heartbeat that echoed inside. She sent up the silent statement that Okami should have a heartbeat, too. To her, it was only fair.

But life wasn't fair. Life was indifferent to who deserved what, and life didn't care that Okami had spent so much time feeling lonely and unloved. Life didn't care that Okami deserved to remain a living girl, equipped with her own steady heartbeat.

Kitsune was willing to believe that Dallet's heartbeat was a mere fluke, that it only existed because life was so indifferent to humanity that sometimes the outcome actually turned out favorable. But it wasn't a shred of mercy. Life didn't really care, after all.

Kitsune thought all this and she cried and cried, letting her tears soak into the bandages she gently laid her head on. And after what felt like hours she felt the gentle stroking of fingers in her hair. She opened her tearstained eyes and Dallet was looking down at her, pale and tired. Then she felt his chest pressing against her cheek. He was trying to sit up.

"Yamatte…"

"It's okay, it's okay…" Dallet's voice croaked as he gingerly sat up, his fingers still stroking her hair.

Kitsune swiped at her tear-covered cheeks in spite of the fact that more tears were beginning to spill. "Okami isn't…"

Dallet nodded slowly. "I know… I know."

"… It's not right."

"I know it's not…" Dallet held his arms open, beckoning her to him, and she gently fell into the embrace, careful not to touch his wound. And Kitsune cried and cried, and Dallet knew that no words would comfort her, so he said nothing as she let the tears run.

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The funeral held for Okami was as honorable a funeral as could be possible. It was a funeral held for war heroes, for indeed Okami was one.

It had taken all of the previous night and most of that morning for the tears to finally leave Kitsune's system, but simply because she could not cry did not imply that she was any less sad.

Dallet was also there for the funeral, though it had been advised that he remain bedridden for the next two days. "I probably owe Okami this much, even if she was the one who wounded me." He had used these words as an excuse, and the very mentioning of Okami's name was enough to give him the right to attend.

Kitsune now watched was they gently laid Okami's body down on the funeral altar reserved for war heroes. It was exquisitely carved with stone of light and dark shades, and at each end stood a small statue of a woman. There was a light one with bat wings and a dark one with phoenix wings… They were statues of the first Light and Dark Star.

Looking at Okami, one would have thought she was the Light Star. She had been dressed in white, and looked hauntingly beautiful as she lay there.

Dilandau came forth wearing clothing of the same black color as everyone else's. It made him look very tired… or maybe he hadn't really gotten any sleep the previous night, anyway. He spoke long and eloquent sentences, and at first he maintained the commanding, professional tone he used so often, but eventually his voice became softer, sadder. Kitsune wondered if Dilandau just didn't CARE if anyone thought he'd gone soft. Why should he, anyway? He loved Okami.

Kitsune knew that it wasn't a very well known fact. Dilandau and Okami being involved in any way. Kitsune had been one of the few who had been able to know that, but as Dilandau laid an elaborate blanket over her body, and paused just a short moment before gently covering her face, she was sure it became obvious to everyone else.

Soon, they were going to burn Okami's body, and send her spirit into the Heavens.

"We send now the spirit of a brave hero up into Heaven's embrace…" Dilandau said the sacred words flawlessly, but in no way did it sound mechanical. He held a torch in each hand. "… and may Heaven take your courageous soul, Okami the Dark Star… we thank you for your valiant heart…"

Kitsune almost wanted to close her eyes, but then Dilandau held out one of the two torches toward her.

"I request the presence of the Light Star to send away the Dark Star… it is fitting… Okami would want it."

The request made Kitsune's skin crawl, but she stepped forward with as noble a face as she could muster and took the torch, standing at the end of the altar with the Light Star statue, Dilandau taking the other end. She supposed that in other events, the Light and Dark Star sent off the souls of other brave heroes… she imagined that in all technicality, sending off a Light or Dark Star was viewed as unnatural, something that the people of Gaea prayed would never happen.

"Do you know the words?" Dilandau asked in a half-whisper.

"I was told them before."

"Recite them with me, then."

And they did, holding up their torches and speaking to the sky. "O take this good soul, Heaven. In return for saving this great land we pray her journey be without peril, and may her name be forever remembered in the hearts and minds of all Gaea."

They brought their torches down just then, letting them rest in carved grooves, the flames lighting lines of liquid that ran along the edges of the altar and toward the center, lighting the blanket quickly. "Sayonara, Okami-chan… we love you." Kitsune added her own ending to the formal, practiced words of the funeral. Dilandau offered no parting words of his own, but Kitsune did not expect any, as it was. Dilandau did not seem to be a man of many words, if he could help it… and so she said included him when she spoke of love. It didn't matter if his love was of a different kind. It was still love.

Kitsune felt two silent tears drip down her solemn face, and she looked up. Dilandau was nodding in approval of Kitsune's addition to the sacrificial speech, and he had a single tear of his own to flow down his soldier face. It was the only tear anyone saw on him, but Kitsune was willing to believe that his sorrow was heavier than anyone else's.

And she was right. Dilandau had never known such pain. As the funeral ended, he found nothing else more important than retreating to the darkest, emptiest room he could find. He found himself in his bedroom. Shutting the door, he pressed his back to it, sliding down to the floor in a melancholy slump. His silver hair fell into his red eyes as a few more tears fell.

"No more…" He muttered. The war was over, and this place held far too many memories for his comfort. It was time for him to quit this life of combat and death. Now couldn't be a better time. He missed his mother, his sisters… it was time to rectify that.

And maybe, just maybe… the joy of being with his family again, could eventually dull the pain of her death…

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"Damn it… I'm so lightheaded…" Dallet murmured to himself as he flopped down onto his bed.

"Well, you weren't supposed to be at the funeral, remember…" Kitsune replied as she crawled onto the bed with him, sitting up for now as she offered him a sip of some broth meant to help him sleep.

"This is terrible, Kitsune… Here you are after all you've done, having to take care of me like I'm some old man… I'm supposed to be protecting you." Dallet felt his ego crumbling.

"There's nothing to protect me from… and I don't mind taking care of you. I don't know how much time I have left here, anyway."

Dallet had to look away for a moment. That thought had struck him during the funeral, as he watched Kitsune lay down her torch. There was no war to fight, anymore. With Gaea not needing any protection, the Spirit Stars were no longer needed and they would often leave without warning. Any second now, Kitsune could disappear, and he might not ever see her again.

The thought scared Dallet. Gatti, Guimel, Shesta… they all were firmly against the idea of falling in love. It wasn't about childish boyhood at all, but it was about fear and loneliness. As soldiers, and young ones, no less, they tended to get lonely and the idea of falling in love with a girl always sounded wonderful. But there were too many fears attached to this one small comfort. There were no women around, most of the time. Okami and Kitsune were the only girls to stay with them for as long as they had. This meant that the Dragon Cavalry could usually only pursue relationships with girls from other places and create long-distance relationships. The longing would be maddening, and on top of that, the girl could leave the soldier at the drop of a hat, without even telling him. Or worse, the soldier could die with an aching heart, and leave the girl broken and crying.

It was too much unnecessary pain for a soldier, and a source of weakness, so the idea of love, no matter how lonely a soldier got, was quickly dismissed as impossible. Up until Kitsune fell into his life, Dallet had been the same way. And up until Okami fell into Dilandau's, Dilandau himself had been one of the strongest enforcers of this soldier philosophy on love.

Dallet's mouth lifted into an amused smirk. Things sure did change, didn't they?

"What's so funny?" Kitsune asked quietly, innocently.

Dallet looked at her with laughter in his eyes. He knew Kitsune wouldn't believe him when he told her. "You know… I used to hate the idea of being with someone."

"… Liar." Kitsune smirked back at him.

And Dallet enjoyed that smirk. It meant that he was taking her away from the pain for a short while… "What makes you think I'm lying?"

"If you hated the idea of being with someone, why were you so friendly with me right from the start, Dallet? Don't look at me like that." Kitsune referred to his arched brow. "You were hitting on me almost immediately. Before you even knew my name. Therefore, I say you are lying."

"Oh, but I'm not lying! A lot of us here don't like relationships!"

"There's too much at stake for military men, right? It makes sense, but I still think that you didn't HATE the idea."

"Oh, but I did."

"Then what makes me special?"

Dallet smiled and shrugged, sipping on his broth. "Most of the girls we get the chance to interact with aren't like you, you know. They're usually bolder women, and immoral, honestly. Trying to get with us for a one night stand. What they don't know is that deep down, a soldier wants a real relationship with a strong, dedicated girl. Then you come in with these HUGE scared eyes and acting all timid."

"So?"

"So… it was different. It was cute."

Kitsune laughed, covering her mouth with her lacy fan. "And that compelled you to hit on me whether you liked it or not?"

"Yes, you FORCED me, how COULD you?" Dallet laughed with her, but it came out a little weak. Laughing too hard made his chest hurt a bit. "… No. I guess I just thought, 'there's a girl who isn't cut out for this place, and I'd like to help her feel stable here, so I think I'll be extra friendly.' It became REAL flirting when I thought, 'and she's a CUTE girl, too.'"

"So my cuteness is what changed your ENTIRE perspective on relationships? I still think you're lying. My first impression of you was that you were a playboy and you enjoyed pulling on weak women's heart strings. So there." Kitsune grinned at him.

"If I recall correctly it really did feel like you were the one pulling more heart strings than I was, Kitsune." Dallet tapped her nose. "Remember that."

Kitsune's smiles became lost in a half-ashamed expression. "You know I was scared."

"I know. But I forgive you because I care that much." Dallet laid back on the pillows and pressed a kiss on the dark crown of Kitsune's head as she laid with him. They were silent for a long while, awake, but with eyes closed. "… I don't know why I decided to risk it for you. I just think you're worth it…"

To Kitsune, it felt as though Dallet had more that he wanted to say, but he said nothing more. "Dallet…?"

"Mmm?"

"When you got hit… and I came to you… you told me that you loved me."

Dallet really did love her, too. His words hadn't been delusional lies, but rather delusional truths. Believing that he was near to dead made him want to be honest with her… no more fears… there hadn't been any time for fears, so he just let it flow all out. And since he'd said it he had thought heavily on it. And the more he thought on it… the more intense his feelings became. He loved Kitsune. He loved Kitsune since the day she read her letter to him. No, he loved Kitsune since the day he helped her draw her sword. But then he thought about it now… and no. He had loved Kitsune since the day she fell into his life, scared and lonely; yes, lonely, though she had lived in façade of love and care.

"… And I meant it. Every word." Dallet whispered to her. "I don't care if it ends up hurting me… I can't help how I feel. I love you."

Kitsune moved to look down at him. There was a mixture of heartbreak and happiness on her face as she gazed down at him, and she whispered these words before she pressed a kiss to his lips. "I want you to know… no matter how far away I am, I will wait for you… I love you."

The two fell asleep to this sweet note, laced in melancholy, and when the first rays of the morning sun slipped into Dallet's bedroom, the soldier stirred and opened his eyes slowly, squinting against the bright light. He could barely see through it at first, but after a while, the soldier's eyes adjusted, and he smiled with traces of bitterness and sadness in his eyes. The soldier's strong, dedicated girl was no longer with him.

**To be continued…**


	15. Chapter 15

Yay! Finally a new chapter. Life is busy for my co-authoress and myself, we're really trying as hard as we can. Chapter 16 will be our very last chapter, so onwards to the semi-ending!

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 15

Kitsune stirred slowly as the felt the heat of the sun's morning rays shining down on her. Beneath her, something was rough and scratchy, hardly feeling like the soft sheets of the bed she had fallen asleep in. Immediately, she was afraid to open her eyes, afraid to take in her surroundings. She knew all too well what happened as she slept. She knew, also, that she could not lie where she was forever. So her dark eyes slowly slid open…

She knew exactly where she was lying. She was lying in the midst of a field belonging to a park she went to often as a small child. She used to lie in this field like she was right now, staring at the sky, daydreaming about the world with two moons in the sky. And Kitsune reached a hand up into the cotton candy blue sky, feeling the tears slip out of her eyes. She turned over and sniffled, her fingers gripping the vivid green grass.

Unfair. Of all times for Kitsune to be sent back… right when she actually WANTED to remain in Gaea. It seemed that the second Kitsune had fully adjusted, she was thrown back into a life she didn't want. Unfair. Completely unfair.

Very slowly Kitsune stood, brushing stray bits of grass off of the white skirt of her dress. Idly, she noted that her Mystic Moon clothes were still on Gaea, and she didn't care. She would keep this dress as a reminder that her trials and tribulations were too real.

As she took a few small steps across the field, the sound of sweet laughter filled her ears. It sounded like Megumi's laughter… she was an acquaintance of Kitsune's through volleyball, back in secondary school. A curvaceous girl who loved to dye her hair brown, and had a laugh as big as her smile. And then Kitsune heard a second laugh, a man's laugh. Another familiar laugh… Toshiyo?

No, that couldn't be Toshiyo… This man had longer hair… and brown streaks in his hair… But then the man turned around, smiling away, and Kitsune felt her heart stop deep in her chest. Yes… it really was Toshiyo. And he really was happy. Without her.

Toshiyo seemed to be pulled to Kitsune's gaze, and he, too, froze. And suddenly Megumi was gone, pressing a kiss to Toshiyo's cheek. "… K… Kitsune?" Toshiyo said with the quite tones of disbelief as Kitsune marched up to him, her face tired and sad.

Kitsune had so many things to say to him, and yet, they could not leave her mouth. After a moment of staring up at him with melancholy dark eyes, she grabbed his hands and led him away.

It was a long conversation between the two former lovebirds… if they had ever been lovebirds to begin with. And that was one of the reasons why Kitsune cried, really. And she told Toshiyo so, and Toshiyo apologized quietly, clearly ashamed. He acknowledged his poor treatment of her and apologized for this as well, and yet, it didn't make Kitsune quite as happy as it should have. It grew quiet between them. Kitsune didn't want to talk about anything else… Not about where she'd been… what she'd gone through… who she'd fallen in love with… Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Megumi had returned and was eyeing them with jealousy, and so Kitsune sent him off, back into Megumi's arms. She watched them smile and laugh and finally, she saw them kiss. They were happy… so happy…and Kitsune felt like she didn't belong there, watching them. And so, wiping away that endless cascade of lonely tears, Kitsune left the happy couple.

She opted to take the longest route home, for she knew in the back of her mind that the last thing she needed as to spend her time withering away in the room that would remind her of Okami. Her true friend, yes, her only real friend. This point was further proven when she ran into her former volleyball teammates. Yes, former. Kitsune had decided that she would quit volleyball, and she slipped the news to her appalled teammates. They couldn't believe it was Kitsune they were talking to… and Kitsune couldn't believe that they found her undesirable the second she wasn't on their team. She was clearly no longer wanted, but she stuck around long enough to hear the sad rumors that had spread since she had disappeared from Earth. Rumors that she had taken to drug use and, of all things, prostitution. It made her sick that the girls before her believed in the rumors until she was there to dispel the lies. Some friends…

She left them all before she would start to cry again, but once she was a block away, the tears began to fall. How long had she been crying now? How in the world was her body able to keep making these drops of sadness? Why couldn't she stop? Suddenly, Kitsune changed her mind. She wanted to get to her dorm room as soon as possible and drown in there, out of the ever-watchful eyes of the passersby. But she needed just one, small comfort… So she flung herself into a phone booth and quickly dialed a number.

The sound of an old man came through. "Moshi moshi?"

"Papa…" Kitsune greeted quietly.

"Kitsune…? Kitsune…! My girl, where have you been?"

"You… won't ever… believe me…"

"Are you okay? Sweetie, where are you?" Kitsune's father asked in worry.

"I'm fine… And I'm near the university. I'm on my way to my dorm room…"

"Good, good then. I'm glad you're okay. …So you're going back to hang out with your roommate or something?

The mentioning of her roommate made Kitsune, yet again, teary. "… Iie."

"… Kitsune?"

"… Okami-chan… isn't here."

"Oh, sweetie… What happened?"

"I don't wanna say right now…"

"… And you're sure you're alright?"

"I'm not in any danger!" Kitsune cried out angrily.

"… I heard about Toshiyo." Her father heard her lightly sob. "I'm so sorry…"

Kitsune suddenly started to laugh. "Papa, you HATED Toshiyo!"

Kitsune's father mumbled that Kitsune had cared for him, though. Kitsune softly told him that Toshiyo no longer mattered to her, and he said,"Oh? Did you find someone new?" Fatherly as he was, his voice became deep, grumbly. "Is he a good, honest man? Will he take good care of you?"

"Papa…!" Kitsune laughed. "… He is a military man, Papa. A good, honest soldier. He could definitely take good care of me."

"A MILITARY man, my girl? How on Earth did you come across a man in the MILITARY?"

"… It happened by chance, Papa. But you would like him if you met him."

"Then let me meet him! You've got no classes this weekend. Spend it at home! Bring him with you!" Kitsune's father pleaded.

The small smile on Kitsune's face disappeared. "Papa… he isn't here… He's far away, now…"

"… Far away…? Where is he, then, sweetie?"

Kitsune let yet another tear tumbled down her face. "He is… home…"

"Ah, a foreign man…" Her father said quietly. "It will be difficult… But it's all up to you… If you are willing to wait for him, my dear."

"… I'm going to wait." Kitsune said firmly, sniffling up her continuous tears.

"… Very well, then, sweetie." He said softly. "… I will let you go… Please visit me this weekend?"

Kitsune bit her lip, but she nodded. "… Okay. Bye, Papa…"

And so Kitsune hung up the phone, feeling a little comfort, though it was tiny compared to the mass amounts of sadness encased within her aching heart. The rest of the walk to her room was a blur. Soon she was a block away. Then she was in the building. As she walked down the hallway to her dorm room, she noticed a bright pink paper that was advertising for kendo classes. It called to her, and she tore down the paper to take with her. And then, finally she was just outside of her dorm room, her hand hovering over the doorknob. She knew that no one was in there, but she could already feel the memories of Okami haunting her. "… Get it over with, Kitsune!" Kitsune hissed at herself, and she slowly pushed open the door, the creaking of its hinges louder than usual in her ears.

Immediately Kitsune's heart began skipping beats. She saw a disheveled mass of curly blonde hair laying on the bed typically claimed by Okami. There was no way that could be real… could it? She moved closer and around the bed, and the body came into view, tightly curled in a fetal position. However, Kitsune could not see any skin; the body was covered either in hair or clothing. Visions of mummified corpses began swirling through her mind, and Kitsune's stomach slowly turned over. The body didn't even look like it was breathing.

There was no way that life would be so cruel as to send Okami's dead corpse back to the Mystic Moon, letting it rot on a bed… right? Kitsune swallowed the lump in her throat and very slowly reached a shaky hand out to touch the body's shoulder…

Her hand touched warm and pliable flesh, and the shoulder immediately flinched away, revealing wide, hazel eyes through strands of blonde and dark curly hair. "Kitsune! Don't DO that!"

It was Okami! A very lively Okami, breathing hard and obviously shaken. The shock was too much for Kitsune to bear, who jumped, stumbled back, and tripped over her white skirt, taking an ungraceful fall to the ground. "OH GOD, DON'T HURT ME!" Kitsune screamed, holding her arm over her eyes in pure fear.

There was an awkward pause. "What the hell!" Okami frowned, her eyes still distant as if she was as confused as Kitsune. "I'm not going to hurt you."

But the shock was still running through Kitsune, and curled into a small white ball, shaking in nervous laughter. "Oh God… Oh my God… Okami-chan, you're alive!"

There was another pause, and Okami looked down at herself, touching her hair, thoroughly disoriented and shaky. "I am… alive… how can this be?"

Okami watched Kitsune's body stiffen noticeably, and her dark eyes shifted to the ground. "I… stabbed you – well, you made me stab you… And you died, Okami-chan. We held a funeral burning… and now… here I am."

" A funeral… burning…?"

Kitsune blinked up at Okami, suddenly realizing that there was, indeed, the possibility that Okami hadn't really had anyone to talk to about Gaean customs… or at least not funeral customs. "It is the way they perform funerals… When you send back the bodies of the dead Dragon Cavalry, we gave them the same funeral… Dallet told me that by burning the body, they release the soul into the Heavens…" Kitsune pondered for a short moment. "I guess that means we sent you right back here…"

Yet another ill at ease pause stretched on. "Dilandau…" Okami frowned. "How did he… take it?"

Kitsune bit her lip and fidgeted. "… I think… well… I know he was hurt, Okami-chan. But you know… he is very strong." She offered Okami a small smile. "He accepted your death… but I know that he still misses you."

"And the worst of it is… he doesn't know I'm alive. We can never go back, can we?" Okami asked quietly, trying to keep the shakiness out of her voice.

"… No." Kitsune replied in the same soft tone. "Probably not."

Okami sniffed, fighting back her tears, but she lost, her tears beginning to flow. Strangled sobs racked her body as she tried too hard to regain composure.

"Okami-chan…" Kitsune sighed softly and approached her, embracing Okami in a gentle hug. "I'm sorry…"

Okami let go, crying into Kitsune's shoulder. "No… I'm the one that should be sorry. I've done terrible things Kitsune… Especially to you!"

Kitsune went wide-eyed. "To me…? What have you done to me…? Mouthed off and dueled with me? I forgive you for that…" She spoke gently and comfortingly, pushing her own bits of shaken emotion deep inside for the time being.

"No… I didn't trust you… I didn't help you to see what Folken really was. I made myself your enemy needlessly… And I hurt Dallet."

"Relax…! It was a stressful time for both of us… And we didn't know each other well enough to trust each other, at the time. So you're forgiven for that, too." Kitsune smiled. "And Dallet is fine, Okami-chan…! I'd know; I cleaned the wound up for him."

"So he did survive?" Kitsune nodded and Okami gave a sigh of relief. "Good. But it still doesn't change all the lives I took. And I bet the people celebrated my death…"

Kitsune's face changed from friendly to annoyed and angry. "Some did… I told them all off. I would've liked to fry their hair off, though. That would've showed 'em!" She said this half-jokingly, a small smile curling her lips.

Okami laughed weakly. "Yeah it would…" A pause. "So… what do we do now?" Her voice was quiet, almost defeated.

Kitsune dropped her smile. "… Live here. There is nothing is else can do." Kitsune frowned. "… I am visiting my father this weekend… and I'm quitting volleyball." She said these most recent plans and then shrugs, her lips quivering. "… Go back to being students. There's nothing else."

Okami nodded. "Then we'll live. I guess eventually life will turn to normal… except for maybe this." Okami cupped her hands, and a tiny ball of dark energy forms in her hands. "I still have my power…"

Kitsune blinked. "Wau… I would've thought that…" She held up a finger and began moving it about in a circle. A ring of small, bright lightning crackled in the path of her finger. "Weird…" She smiled. "… But cool."

"So long as we don't use it in public view… we'll be locked up and used as lab rats… or assassinated by religious extremists…"

Kitsune cringed at the idea. "Oh God, no. We don't need that kind of crap, after all this…! … Besides, what am I gonna use my power for, anyway? Tripping circuit breakers?"

Okami laughed. "A really good way of getting out of class, eh? Convenient power outages?"

Kitsune suddenly broke into a wide grin. "But only on exam days! And, of course, I know NOTHING about it." She winked, and Okami giggled in reply.

**To be continued... **


	16. Chapter 16

**Girl in Gaea: The Untold Story**

By Brenli and AmetrineButterfly

Chapter 16

SEVERAL MONTHS LATER…

Okami fished her keys from her pocket, balancing her large paper bag of groceries on her hip with one arm. "Damn it." She mumbled, finally extracting her keys and opening the front door of her house. "Kitsune? Kitsune-chan are you home?"

"Hai!" Kitsune could be heard faintly as she rushed forth, tying her hair up in a high pony tail. "I told someone I'd help them spar today, but I'm running late." She said as she rested her simple katana on her shoulder.

"Nice. Are you liking kendo class?" Okami made idle conversation as she headed towards the kitchen, setting the bag of groceries on the counter.

"Definitely!" Kitsune chirped. "Better than volleyball. I'm telling you, Okami-chan, you should sign up for it. We can dominate the class together."

Okami shook her head, her freshly dyed black lowlights swinging. "I've had enough fighting for one lifetime. I'll stick to my paintings." She waved towards the living room, where it wasn't much of a living room anymore. Sheets covered the furniture; three easels were set up, one empty, two supporting paintings. Canvases both clean and painted upon were leaning against the covered furniture. In essence, it was evidence of her recent creative explosion.

"Finish up anything today?" Kitsune asked casually as she approached the easels, figuring that she could afford to be a little later than she already was. She was supposed to be sparring with a beginner, a boy that had very obviously developed a crush on Kitsune. But there was only one person for Kitsune now, so she didn't care if she kept him waiting. If he really wanted to spar, and not ogle her, he'd call her.

"I finished the piece that looks like Aeopyx, it's sitting near the window." She pointed to the larger canvas facing away from the two of them, drying in the light of the sun.

"Sugoi…" Kitsune said as she stepped up to the window, soaking up the rays of light that shone down. "… You know? It's too nice a day to spend it sparring in the dojo…"

"… Are you thinking about cutting? Because I really could use some sushi right now." Okami smiled.

"Oooooooh sushi…!" Kitsune could practically feel her stomach ache with a sudden hunger pang. "… Yeah. I'm definitely skipping out today." Kitsune disappeared for a short moment to put her sword back in it's display case, and she skipped back into the room. "If you're ready to head out, I am."

"In a minute, I have to change." She indicating the school uniform that she still wore. After a few minutes, Okami reappeared, wearing a simple black tank top, and blue jeans. Her typical outfit. "Ok, let's go." Smiling, the two girls left.

Their favorite sushi bar, like most places they enjoyed, were within three blocks of their house. They walked in and were promptly served, which was the best thing about this sushi bar. Kitsune made it a point to sit by a window, so that the sun could bathe her over in warmth while she ate. But she also wanted to sit there so she could look up at the sky and daydream, like she tended to do these days. The other students in her kendo class accused her of misplacing her brain in another place. It wasn't that. She had misplaced her heart, though. But at least Okami probably understood, and that was enough for Kitsune. "… Hey, Okami-chan…" She said before taking a bite of her sushi and turning her eyes up to the sky.

"Yeah?" Okami said, voice muffled from her mouth full of sushi.

"… Ever wonder what they're doing right now?" She asked vaguely, but she knew Okami would know just who Kitsune was thinking of. Didn't Okami think of them, too?

Okami frowned, training her eyes to her plate of sushi. "All the time… Sometimes I wish I could just turn my brain off, so I wouldn't have to think of him so much. I just wish there was some way I could let him know that I'm alright… to let ALL of them know that I'm alright… Not that many would really care…"

"Oh shush." Kitsune said between bites of her sushi. "It's not like many people really knew me, either, so I doubt there is a massive cult of people missing me… And they aren't really of my concern right now, anyway… Just a couple people… and that's it." She finished softly. "How long has it been since we left…? Do you think… they might have moved on?"

Okami shrugged. "Part of me hopes so, yet another part knows that if I ever saw him again, and he had someone else… I would die inside. But I can't really expect him to wait for me, can I? I guess you could think the same about Dallet…" She took another healthy bite of sushi. "As time passes, I find things are becoming easier. The pain inside of me grows weaker all the time. I'm hoping that some day it'll be nothing more than a dull throb."

"… Maybe." Kitsune said quietly. "Sometimes… I don't know if I really want it to get weaker like that… It does. But I don't know if I want it to... You know what I did, the night before I left? I promised I would wait for him…" She paused and stared at the sky for a moment. "… Do you think that might have been a stupid decision…?"

"I don't know… I don't know how we could ever go back. But you have to be true to yourself… how can you love someone else when you can't seem to let go of another?"

Kitsune laughed sadly. "God… I know I can't let go."

Okami fell silent, suddenly uninterested in eating her sushi. She poked lightly at it. "I would give anything to go back there… If only there was a way."

"Hmm… close our eyes and make a wish…?" Kitsune laughed again. "If only, huh? I'd show Dallet my hair… I wonder if he's changed at all…!" She ran her fingers through her hair, which she'd cut into a series of layers to frame her face. She toyed with a lock idly. "… I almost… SERIOUSLY want to try closing my eyes and making a wish…"

The Dark Star toyed with her own altered locks, freshly dyed black in streaks, offering a striking contrast to her already white-blonde hair. "Yeah… let's do it!" Smiling, she held out both her hands. "Let's give it a try, what could it hurt? Let's wish on a star… that we can't see…"

Kitsune had to giggle at that. "Ready?" She closed her eyes.

"Yeah." Okami closed her eyes as well, but before any of them could say anything, the tremors of the earth began shaking the sushi bar.

"… What? Oh, great…" Kitsune, who was accustomed to earthquakes thanks to her years in Japan, motioned to Okami to get up and move away from the low table they were seated at to seek refuge in one of the doorways, for the tables were simply TOO low to crawl under. But the earthquake was harsh and merciless and the two girls tripped and fell. Kitsune wasn't sure if Okami was okay, but Kitsune felt her head hit the sharp corner of another low table, and then her world went blank.

"Kitsune!" Okami crouched beside the fallen Kitsune, the earthquake steadily getting worse. "Damn it!" She yelled, seeing the wound on Kitsune's forehead. "Someone get… help?" Confused, Okami looked around. Only seconds before, the sushi bar was teeming with people, and now it was completely deserted. Before Okami could puzzle over it, it seemed like everything was getting brighter. Everything got brighter and brighter, until the world was white, and then… black…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"… Pay attention! We're not camping for fun! We need to strategize."

"Well excuse me, Mr. New Boss-man…!"

Kitsune twitched and groaned to herself as she struggled to sit up. She felt the warmth of blood trickling down her face. "… Okami-chan…?" She tried to crawl forward in the darkness, her fingers gripping rough foliage and trying to push it aside.

"What's that?" A male voice asked with the tones of apprehension.

"Don't worry…" A familiar voice said, though the last time Kitsune had heard it, it hadn't permeated the air with such an authoritarian quality…

The sudden orange light from a campfire made Kitsune flinch and turn away, her dark hair falling over her face as she cowered before the flash of the blade of a sword pushing aside the leaves and twigs.

"… What…?"

"What is it, Mr. New Boss-man?"

"Shut up, Miguel!" 'Mr. New Bossman' snapped, and Kitsune felt the flat of the cold blade press against her cheek. It wasn't by any means an attempt to harm her, but she flinched again, and the blade bade her to turn her head. "… Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you… Your name?" Kitsune was afraid, even though the voice became soft around her, and her face was forced forward. However, her dark hair fell over her face. "Why won't you talk?" Then she felt a strong hand grip her chin and force her to look up.

His hair had grown longer, a few stray locks resting along his chest, and she guessed that the rest was tied back in a low ponytail. No longer was he dressed in grey, but instead he wore red and white… And surprisingly, he looked good in red, though she had never pictured him wearing it. And his eyes were the same brown eyes, gentle and kind to her. "… Dallet…"

That accent… that cute little accent that turned 'Dallet' into 'Dalléto'… "… Kitsune…!" Dallet quickly sheathed his sword and pushed her dark hair behind her ears. "… You're hurt…"

"Who cares?" Kitsune cried and embraced him.

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait, gah!" Dallet fell into the bush he'd come to check, and the laughter of the Dragon Cavalry grew.

"Hey, what the Hell are you doin', Boss-man, hitting on a village girl?"

"NO!" Dallet snarled, quickly coming to a stand and pulling Kitsune up with him.

She saw them all, wide-eyed, but smiling. "… It's the Light Star!" They all greeted. It had been so long since Kitsune had been referred to as the Light Star, but she didn't mind the title, this time. She smiled at them all and regarded them with a nod as Dallet pulled her close to him, feeling lost waves of happiness wash over her… "Wait a minute." Her dark eyes darted around, and then she pondered out loud, subconsciously twirling her fingers around lock of Dallet's longer hair and admiring the silkiness of it. "Where's Okami-chan?"

"… Okami?" Dallet said with an arched brow. "Kitsune… Okami died… a WHILE ago…"

"No, no she didn't!" Kitsune said gleefully. "You wouldn't believe it…! When I went back, she was there, Dallet!"

"Really?"

"Really! … There was an earthquake, today… That's where this came from…" She pointed to the wound on her head. "… And I guess that's why I'm here. But where's Okami-chan?"

Dallet listened to Kitsune babbled happily, confusion wrinkling his brow. Then his eyes widened with a sudden realization. "… Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Think of what?"

"Kitsune… Gaea's on the verge of another war… So no wonder why you're here! The Light and Dark Stars are needed again!"

"… Well that's great… well, not the war part… but… you know what I mean…" Kitsune shook her head wildly. "That still doesn't help me figure out where Okami-chan is!"

"Don't worry your head off, Kitsune. I'm right here." Okami stepped out of the woods, an annoyed look plastered on her face, brushing dust from her clothes. "Suddenly I find that I REALLY don't like trees…"

"Oh, good!" Kitsune heaved a sigh of relief. "Some trip here, huh?" Kitsune tenderly touched her wound.

Okami was paying little attention to Kitsune, she was staring at Dallet's armor, a confused look plastered on her face. "Why are you wearing red?" She looked around. "Where's Dilandau?"

"Oh, about all this…"

"Dallet's our new Boss-man!" Chesta said, happily regarding Okami.

"… Dilandau told me he was through with warfare after you… left." Dallet said quietly, his arms still forming a ring around Kitsune. "So he gave me… a bit of a promotion. And he went home to his family, Okami."

The look on Okami's face betrayed her feelings. It was like her world just crumbled. "Oh… I… see…" She leaned against a tree, her hair falling forward when she gazed at the ground.

"Okami-chan…" Kitsune said sadly, feeling her heart ache in sympathy for Okami.

Then Dallet stepped forth. "Okami… I know the general area in which he lives. So if you want, I can give you directions. I can even get someone to escort you, if you'd like."

"Can you really?" Okami's eyes brightened, and her heart managed to leap, a sensation definitely foreign to her.

"Definitely." Dallet said with a confirmatory nod.

"I'll need a change of clothes… and a horse!"

"Well, the horse we can take of right here… Um… we really don't have any other clothes right HERE... Like, female clothes…"

"Well then give me money, so I can BUY clothes!"

"Um… okay…" It was only then that Dallet managed to fully pull himself away from Kitsune and go to a big bag, in which he dug around from a short moment. He pulled out a smaller, but bulky-looking bag and held it out to Okami, who gladly took it. "… Somehow, I don't remember you being this demanding when I first met you, Okami…"

"Well I died once… perhaps that was just me in a past life." Okami grinned, a bold smile that seemed all too alien to her, yet refreshing just the same. "I would actually prefer to go alone, though…"

Dallet nodded his understanding. "But be careful… Like I said, we're on the verge of war… if anyone recognizes you as the Dark Star, who knows what'll happen."

"I'll be alright. I'm not planning on making any detours…" Okami turned to Kitsune. "I'm sorry I'm leaving… but Kitsune… I HAVE to see him again."

Though Kitsune did feel a little disappointed the Okami was running off, she smiled and nodded. "That's okay. You gotta surprise your man! Imagine how happy he's gonna be!" Kitsune winked. "Have fun!"

"Gah. As long as he doesn't think he's crazy and poke me with a stick!" She giggled, and turned back to Dallet. "So, which way?"

Dallet held out his arm, looking as though he was indicating the path of the sun. "Follow the sunset until the forest turns into open fields. Keep going until you see red wheat fields, and turn north. He'll be five miles from you, then. Unfortunately I'm not sure what his home looks like, exactly, but it's a small farming community. Ask around. You'll find him."

"Thank you. I'll find him, and then meet up with you again as soon as I can!" She mounted her horse in a single, fluid motion.

"Good luck, Okami." Dallet smiled up at her, wrapping his arm around a blushing Kitsune's waist.

The Dragon Cavalry, with Kitsune, watched Okami as she sped off, quickly becoming a tiny figure disappearing with the sun. Kitsune smiled after her friend, and blushed twice as bad when she was suddenly trapped in Dallet's arms.

"Come here!" He commanded, and Kitsune went wide-eyed as he pressed a hungry kiss to her lips. "… There. I feel better." He said quietly, smiling.

"Wooooo! So how much of the show do WE get to see?"

"SHUT UP, SHEEP BOY!"

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The sun had just begun to set over the vast field of red wheat, the music of children's laughter permeated the air. A woman with silver hair and a beautiful face hung laundry on a line to dry. Two young girls sat in the front yard of their large country house, braiding each others hair. Another girl of twelve was feeding the horses in their large paddock.

A short distance away, a strong young man with the same shocking silver hair as his sisters and mother stood chopping wood for the fire. He paused for a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow, smiling with content as he watched his family go about their activities. This was his true idea of peace.

"Dilandau! Dilandau!" A girl of sixteen ran her horse to Dilandau, with a panicked look on her tan face. "Dilandau there's a rider approaching, and she has weapons!"

'An attacker?' Dilandau thought to himself, and on instinct he adopted a demanding, protective tone and told her, "Get everyone in the house." As his sister quickly gathers up the children and told their mother what he wanted them to do, he took quick steps to the porch and took up his sword. He hadn't touched it in a while, but I fit into his grasp as though he'd never stopped using it. Dilandau brandished it and readied himself for any kind of stealthy attack, his red eyes peering about, searching for any sign of this apparent threat.

A rider on horseback soon appeared through the wheat, coming a steady pace, walking her horse. He couldn't see her face, all he could really see was her black and blonde curly hair. The rider stopped a distance away from Dilandau, halting her horse. Time seem to be suspended for a moment as she just stared at him, neither of them moving.

"What do you want?" Dilandau said warningly, holding his sword before him. "I'll KILL you before you do anything to my family!"

She didn't answer, but she dismounted her horse, and reached for her sword.

Dilandau didn't even think twice. He immediately charged after his supposed attacker, attempting to bring the blade of his sword down on this woman's head, but with great speed she dodged the blow easily.

She rolled out of the way, ducking under his arm and pulled off her sword, but with the scabbard still covering the blade underneath. "I have no quarrel with you!" She pleaded, meeting Dilandau's eyes for the first time.

Her eyes… her hazel eyes. Immediately Dilandau was reminded of Okami, the woman he had loved… the woman who had died, leaving him empty. As quickly as he thought of her, he dismissed that idea. Okami was dead. And nothing was going to change that. "… Get off of my land." He made a quick cutting motion in the air, pointing in the direction of which she came.

"…But-"

"Go."

"… Wait-"

"NOW!"

The woman paused, and those hazel eyes of her narrowed as a look of pure annoyance crossed her face. "Are you ALWAYS this paranoid?"

"I've come to believe that everyone in these times has ill intentions." Dilandau said coldly, the pessimism dripped from his mouth like venom.

The girl bit her lip, then the tiniest of light shone in her eyes, as though she had stumbled upon a fond, forgotten memory. She spoke softly, cautiously. "…When you're forced to think something for so long… you eventually begin to believe that it's the truth…"

Dilandau's red eyes blinked as he listened to that voice of hers say such words… they were the words of another… the words of Okami. And while he had never admitted it, these words had given him a sense of hope that no one but Okami could have created for him…

"But when you find that it's not… You can feel truly free for the first time in your life…" She smiled. "Ever heard that one before?"

"… No way…" Dilandau mumbled to himself, and when he spoke up he could only successfully form one word, a name. "… OKAMI?"

She smiled again, this time letting tears well in her eyes. "And here I thought you had forgotten me, already."

Dilandau lowered his sword, sheathed it, and let it drop, mumbling words. "But… dead… that doesn't make… I don't…" It didn't make sense, but there she was. Her hair was streaked in black, but it was still the same Okami he had fallen in love with. Looking up, he caught the fading sunlight playing off the tears pooling at her eyes. "… Don't do that…!" He rushed forth and scooped her up into his arms, squeezing her in a comforting manner.

"I would stop if I could… I missed you so much. It killed me, everyday, knowing that I could never tell you that I was alright." Okami sighed. "I don't know how it happened, but the last thing I remembered was the blade in my chest, and then when I woke up, I was on earth, with Kitsune again."

Dilandau pressed soft kisses on Okami's forehead in another attempt at comforting her. "It was… so painful. Every single second it was like… God, I couldn't go on, Okami… And that's why I left the Dragon Cavalry. But I know you're alive, now… God, that's all I could ever ask for!" And he kissed her again, this time brushing the soft kiss over her lips.

"I don't ever want to leave again… I love you, Dilandau, I always have. Even when you were a complete jackass to me." Okami smiled, kissing him back softly.

"Jackass, huh?" Dilandau chuckled and pressed a hungrier, needier kiss on her. "Well I've always loved you, too… No matter how bitchy you were!"

"Hey! I was NEVER bitchy!"

"Please." Dilandau laughed, still embracing her. "Well it doesn't matter. The point is that I love you." And he kissed her once again. "… Wanna meet my family?"

"Of course I do, but I have to return to Kitsune and the other DragonSlayers soon… there's another war starting…"

"That's Gaea for you… we'll never last a year without a war. But at least one good thing comes out of it."

Okami arched a brow. "What's that?"

"It means you'll eventually come back to me over and over again."

"Well then I know that I can live with being the Dark Star, so long as you'll always be here, waiting for me."

The pair smiled to each other, took the other's hand, and walked inside the house.

**THE END!**

Author Notes:

From AmetrineButterfly – HO my gawd everyone, it's been real, but we're all finished. There's really no chance for a sequel, because a sequel would be lame. So the GIG project has finally come to a close. Thank everyone, and good night!

From Brenli – LITERALLY 'good night'; it's 11:52 P.M. here where we're at! I, from the bottom of my lil bitty heart, thank you for sticking through this with us. It's been tough. Ametriney and I have LIVES and so it's hard to keep hitting you up with updates. But you believed in us, yay! So thankee!

**LONG LIVE DALLET'S NAKED GLORY!**


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